The Guardian of Lastation Rewind
by HDNftw
Summary: [[PART ONE OF THE GoL SERIES]] Hiroshi Fujita, a freshman at Ksugakari High, is just finishing up his first year there when he gets a letter from the headmistress that says, "Give this to Hiroshi Fujita immediately". Little does he know that once he opens the letter, his life will be changed forever.
1. Chapter 1

"Okay, class! Once everyone hands their test up to the front, we can all head out to lunch! Deal?" Our homeroom teacher, Mr. Jameson, announces the end of our second math final. Everyone groans with relief and hurriedly passes their test up to the front. The school day was ending in a short four hours before my first summer break from Ksugakari High would start. As we all pass our papers up to the front, Mr. Jameson looks up at us and clears his throat.

"Alright, kiddos! After lunch, you're gonna come back here and we're gonna try and get the rest of the finals taken care of, okay?" Everyone cheers and Mr. Jameson just grins. "Anyway, the bell is about to ring, so why don'tcha get your lunch out early? It wouldn't hurt to get an extra few minutes of lunch, would it?" He winks and we all happily accept his offer, getting up from our desks and headed out the classroom for lunch.

Heading my classmates bid their farewells to each other, some directed to me, before heading over towards the cafeteria. I, on the other hand, wait for everyone to disperse before heading over to get my lunch in my locker. Acquiring my lunch, instead of turning to go to the cafeteria, I head up the spiraling staircase and open the door to the roof. Normally, I wouldn't be the type to go on the roof, but today, being the last day of school, influenced me to do otherwise. Pulling out my lunch, I begin my meal.

School hasn't been great, but it hasn't been bad this year. For one, I don't exactly have very many friends… or if any at all. It was quite the interesting change from middle school to high school because I used to be an extremely popular guy at my school, and then meeting new people here at the high school was a little harder than I had thought. I still get along with everyone, it's just that I just don't connect with anyone at the high school to have a friendly relationship.

Suddenly, the door to the roof began to open, making me turn my head towards the direction of the attention. There, the student president, Keiko Fujiyoshi, had her head peeked through the door with her lunch in hand. I quickly finish chewing the bite in my mouth and set down my meal, standing up and turning to the president.

"It's an honor seeing you here, Fujiyoshi-san. What brings you here?" _Is it because of the overly-formal way I speak..?_ I think to myself as I bow.

"No worries, Hiroshi. Lift up your head! It's the last day of school for heaven's sake!" She then walks over to me and sits down across from where I am standing.

"Would you like to enjoy your lunch with me?" She kindly offers, in which I nod and sit back down, going back to eating my sandwich.

The two of us awkwardly ate our lunches across from each other and tried to make eye contact, but never got the chance to follow through in a conversation. As I finish my last bite, Fujiyoshi cleared her throat and looked at me.

"Hiroshi, after you are finished with your lunch, would you like to accompany me to the headmaster's quarters?" She looks at me with a semi-serious look, but still a carefree smile is on her face.

"O-of course." I quickly finish my lunch, and I begin to panic, thinking that I am the one to go into the headmaster's quarters. _Am I in trouble? What did I do this year or this last week or today to get me in trouble?_ I think to myself as I get up with a poker-face, grabbing my lunchbag.

"Don't worry, you're not in trouble. It's just a subject that can't be shared in public." I let out a sigh of relief, but still my ears were perked when I heard "can't be shared in public". I decided not to press on that subject as we made our way down the stairway and into the hallways.

"Here we are, Hiroshi." She turns to me with a smile, a hand directed towards the pair of doors in front of the two of us.

"Thanks for directing me here. I guess we will have to see what the headmistress has to say to me." I nod in thanks and she turns with a nod as well.

As she passes me, I hear, "It's Noire." Noir? I've never taken french as a language class, but I know it means "Black". What does that have to do with anything?

With a shrug, I push open the doors to the headmistress' quarters.

Inside the room, I found a woman staring at me with a gaze of expectancy, and a black letter with a white, wax rose stamped to seal the letter.

"I've been waiting for you." She then stands up and walks over to me, the letter in hand.

I stay silent, not knowing how to respond to her comment.

The headmistress stands up and walks towards me. "I just had you come to give you a letter that came in from someone who goes by the name 'Noire'." I give her a blank stare and she pulls out an envelope to prove her point.

I take it and look at her, "Why couldn't have you just give it to me after school?" She picks up what looks like a note and she hands it to me. On the note, it says, "Give this to Hiroshi Fujita immediately." Other than that, there's nothing else.

"When should I open it?" I ask her, turning the letter over in my hands for any recognition. Nothing.

"Who knows?" She smirks in response. I thank her just as the bell rings.

"Well, you'd better get to class before you get a tardy on the last day of school. It would ruin your status of someone who's always to class on time." She looks at me with a smile and gives me a wave of dismissal, in which I gladly accept, turning and heading to my next class.

~~ Meanwhile in Another Dimension ~~

Dear Hiroshi Fujita,

I am Noire, CPU of Lastation, or I should say, Ruler of Lastation. I come from a dimension called Gamindustri and we have been under attack by an evil force that goes by the name, 'the Seven Sages.' I found your world, the so-called "Earth," and I have been researching to see if there would be anywhere that would be safe in that dimension. With enough research, I had managed to find your high school, Ksugakari High, and I have appointed you to be my Guardian. I know that I might not be able to transform, knowing that I will probably be thrown into a different dimension, cutting off the source of power to let us transform in the first place, within the next few days you read this. Therefore, if I end up going to Earth, I grant you the authority to be my Guardian.

I look forward to meeting you,

-Noire

I set the piece of paper down, rereading it over and over, making sure I didn't messed up on my SOS. _I really hope this works. If what Kei said was true, then the concoction that she made for us should work._ I pull out a vial that had an orange liquid in it from a cabinet and swirl it around, recalling what had happened a couple of days ago.

 _"Hey, Kei! I have a request for you!" I call out to the Oracle of Lastation, walking into our basilicom._

 _"What is it, m'lady?" She turns to me with a smile as she puts down the papers she had been working on._

 _"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me m'lady!?_ Please _call me, 'Noire'" I huff. "Anyway! So recently, I've been talking with Histoire about if there possibly could be different dimensions besides this one and today I just got a message from her saying that there are, in fact, different dimensions outside of Gamindustri. She says that there's a dimension that has almost the same exact lifestyle our our dimension is called, 'Earth.' So I was wondering, since you specialize in crafting elixirs, if you could make Uni and me an elixir to be able to go to Earth."_

 _I wait patiently for Kei's response as she furrows her brow, putting a hand to her chin, thinking about some chemical equation for how to create the elixir._

 _"Two oranges, two tablespoons of dogoo saliva, two Ancient Dragon teeth and two basilisk eggs," She lists off the ingredients as I quickly write all of them down on a piece of paper._ This shouldn't be hard. _I think to myself as I put my notebook away._

 _"Thanks a ton, Kei!" I say as I transform into my HDD form and fly in pursuit of the items on the list._

 _"Gah! It's even harder to get to the destination than it is collecting the items!" I groan as I slump down on a chair in the basilicom, the ingredients all laid out across the table._

 _"At least you got them before sundown. Now I can finish this by tomorrow!" Kei says, happily taking the items and rushing off into her lab._

 _Before she closes her door she looks back at me, "While you were gone, I was deciding how to activate the potion, and I thought, in order to successfully use the ability of the potion, say the words 'Bring me back to reality.'"_

"Hey, Noire! Is there anymore work due today?" Uni calls out to me, snapping me out of my flashback and almost making me drop the precious vial in surprise.

"N-no we're good as far as work goes. Take a rest for now just in case something happens with the Seven Sages," I stutter, folding up the letter and place it in my drawer. Uni is the CPU Candidate of Lastation-my younger sister. It is my duty to help support my sister on her journey to become the one who will be able to lead this nation, for it is her sole duty to be the next successor of Lastation.

Suddenly hearing a buzz from my desk, I quickly file the papers in my hand and head over to the phone. Picking up the phone, one message had filled up the screen, "Everyone! There's trouble here in Planeptune! It's the Seven Sages again! Come ASAP!" _Damnit, it's them again. Hopefully we will be able to finish this off quickly enough without any troubles._

The Seven Sages are a group of evildoers that have only one goal: To make Gamindustri a land where only there's one ruler, and one land. Since there's the four nations, Planeptune, Lastation, Lowee and Leanbox, with each a CPU, Console Patron Unit, the Seven Sages have been targeting us and trying to eliminate us. This war started decades ago, and yet we still have been fighting back and forth, improving our powers and skills each time we fight.

Unfortunately, the Seven Sages have turned the tides on us, meaning that we have been struggling to maintain our rate of Shares due to the Seven Sages destroying cities all around Gamarket. Clenching my teeth, I hurriedly shove my phone into my pocket and begin to gather my items and gear for battle. Uni, on the other hand, looks at me expectantly, waiting for me to give her the "Ok" for her to get readied up.

"Hey, Uni, it looks like the Seven Sages are back in business so we're gonna head over there now. Go grab your rifle and we'll head out," I glance at Uni and she immediately nods, quickly setting down the papers she had in her hand before rushing to her room to get ready for the battle as well.

"Make sure you pack plenty of revival potions and healing potions because this could get pretty rough seeing what had happened in the last battle," Uni warns me, slinging her rifle around her shoulder. I nod and quickly pull open a cabinet, pulling out enough potions, elixirs and scrolls for each of our comrades to have twenty.

"Hey, Uni. Drink this too before we go. It's a very important elixir that Kei crafted for us in case if there's an emergency in battle in case of an emergency." I hand her the elixir, which has the special orange concoction in it, and we both drink the liquid. Closing my inventory screen, I toss a teleport scroll at Uni, who catches it and nods, signaling us to teleport to Planeptune.

"Is everything alright!?" I shout as the two of us dash towards the battlefield to see blasts and flashes across my field of view. I notice Nepgear running towards us in her HDD form and I wave to her to catch her attention.

"Everyone else is here so don't worry! We've already taken two out of the seven down!" She shouts as another blast makes the ground shake, continuing to dash past us with little chatter; a logical move, for we were in combat with the enemy.

"Let's not waste anymore time talking, Uni! Let's go!" She nods and we both rush into the battle.

The first of the remaining Sages that we run into is Copypaste, the giant mech. Transforming into my HDD form, I summon my sword and besides me, Uni glows a bright white and turns into her HDD form.

"Well if it isn't the Lastation sisters! Lucky me, they're easy prey." Copypaste turns his tracts towards us and his eyes flash a bright red with a cackle, "You're never going to beat me with that toothpick and nerf gun of yours. All it takes is a hit to the head and you girls are KO'd!" He taunts us but we pay no attention to him as we give each other the signal to start the attack.

"Defeating us won't be that easy, you clump of metal!" I shout as he reaches out to grab me but I dodge his hand and stab my sword into his arm, dragging it up his metallic arm as I get closer and closer to his core.

"Gah! Like that puny sword will ever kill me!" The giant robot shakes it's arm, flinging me off of him. I quickly regain my balance and jet back towards him as Uni takes a few shots at his face, throwing him off guard.

"Infinite Slash!" I chant the skill as my blade glows a bright white. I dash around him, taking wide slashes at Copypaste's body, hearing him creak and limp forward as oil spurts out of each gash I make. From behind me, as I sheath my sword, I hear the mech's parts fall apart and crash to the floor with a loud thud.

"Three down. Four more to go!" I let out a victorious laugh, summoning my wings, flying deeper into the battle.

"Foolish CPU's! You'll never be able to beat me at this rate!" A woman cloaked in pitch black smoke and red lightning cackles as she shoots a bolt of anti-CPU energy at one of our comrades, Neptune, who had fallen unconscious somehow, most likely from the attack from the woman. With Neptune down, we were at a huge disadvantage because she is the most powerful out of the entire group. Uni and I find everybody targetting Arfoire, the most powerful, and apparently the last, of the Seven Sages. Although it was eight against one, it didn't seem like we, the eight, were going to win against the powerful enchantress.

Vert and Blanc, a spear wielder and a hammer user, had been flung back into a building, snapping their spines as they attempted to gang up on Arfoire. As Neptune was lying on the ground, immobilized from a black bind, her sister, Nepgear, takes the front and defends her fallen comrades.

"Don't hurt my friends, you evil woman!" Nepgear slices her way through the dark matter and takes a stab at Arfoire. The powerful enchantress barely moves a finger before delivering an overwhelmingly large wave of dark energy at Nepgear, sending her flying into Ram, knocking the two CPU candidates unconscious.

Uni jumps onto the branch of a tree and takes the chance to shoot Arfoire in her blind spot, shattering a segment of her wings, disabling her ability to fly. Before Uni can even react, Arfoire appears in front of her with a smirk, stabbing her through the chest like a knife slicing through butter.

I watch in horror as the scene unfolds. Uni's dying corpse falling out of the tree and onto the ground, Arfoire laughing like a maniac, Nepgear and Ram unconscious on top of each other, Neptune struggling to move her body to protect the others, Vert and Blanc lying side-by-side. I quickly turn back into my CPU form and dash towards Uni, quickly picking her body up, knowing that if I waste time, it could be the end for all of us. Hoping that Arfoire didn't notice, I dash towards an abandoned shelter that had a part of the roof torn apart due to the fight. The light in Uni's eyes was slowly fading as I shakily pulled out a flask from my inventory.

"Come on, Uni... Please stay alive! Please!" Popping the cap off, I quickly make Uni drink the remedy. I sigh with relief as Uni's unnatural colored skin slowly goes back to its normal color along with the giant gash in her chest slowly closing and sealing. Pressing a finger to Uni's lips, we sneak outside to find Arfoire waiting in front of the building with a smirk on her face.

"Are you two ready to have your lives end here!?" She cackles as I see a pitch black ball of energy forming above her head as she starts chanting a spell. I dig my heels into the ground as Uni hides behind me, her gun ready.

"Although this might not be perfected, I will show you my new power! Behold!" She continues to chant the spell and a dark purple, almost black, circle appears beneath Uni and I. My body freezes, Uni's grip against my clothing tightens and I grit my teeth in fear.

"Oh? Are you giving up? Well then. Goodbye CPUs and Gamindustri!" Arfoire cackles loudly and the two of us start falling into the mass of dark energy below us hearing the last of the Seven Sages walk off, cackling even louder as she walks away, leading us to our doom.

Quickly remembering the words that Kei had told me to say in a state of life or death, I mumble, "Bring me back to reality."

 **~Author's Note!~**

 **Long time no see, my friends! :D**

 **I hope you enjoyed the rewrite of the first chapter! Leave a review on how you thought the story is going so far-is it good? is it bad?**

 **Anyway, I know that I haven't gotten a chance to update my other stories...so I will do my best to attempt to maintain the Zero Dimension and this story :)**

 **Have an amazing day, and thank you so, so, so, so, so, so much for continuing to support me on this story! (thanks for the 20k views on the original Guardian of Lastation btw c: )**


	2. Chapter 2

**HEADS UP MY FELLOW READERS! I WILL BE POSTING EVERY FRIDAY (excluding today c:) SO LOOK FORWARD TO EACH CHAPTER!**

"What a way to end the day!" I grin and toss my backpack to the side, cringing as I hear something fall off of it's original position. Pulling out the letter in my pocket, I re-examine it. _Out of all the designs of a letter, it had to be black with a white rose. Why not just some regular envelope with a smiley-face sticker? I would open it either way._ I shrug and carefully peel the wax off of the letter and pull out the contents.

Inside the envelope was a piece of paper, with someone's almost _too_ perfect handwriting on it, roughly three quarters of the page being filled with words.

On it, the letter read,

 _Dear Hiroshi Fujita,_

 _I am Noire, CPU of Lastation, or I should say, Ruler of Lastation. I come from a dimension called Gamindustri and we have been under attack by an evil force that goes by the name, 'the Seven Sages.' I found your world, the so-called "Earth," and I have been researching to see if there would be anywhere that would be safe in that dimension. With enough research, I had managed to find your high school, Ksugakari High, and I have appointed you to be my Guardian. I know that I might not be able to transform, knowing that I will probably be thrown into a different dimension, cutting off the source of power to let us transform in the first place, within the next few days you read this. Therefore, if I end up going to Earth, I grant you the authority to be my Guardian._

 _I look forward to meeting you,_

 _-Noire_

 _For one,_ I think to myself, _this seems_ way _too convenient to find a_ specific _person to suddenly just rely on. This "Noire" must really be desperate if he needs someone to be his "guardian" for him._ I shrug and put the letter back into the envelope, tossing it onto the counter, where my backpack had ended up knocking a chair over.

 _Now that I think about it,_ I stare at my dinner table in thought, _why was I given this entire house to my own? I'm only one person, and yet my parents just give me a house to hold almost three families. Is this their way of abandoning me?_ I let out a distressed sigh and glance at the clock. _5:37 PM._ It read.

"I guess it's time for a nice, relieving bath to kick off the summer break!" I grin and head over to the sliding glass door, which lead to the oversized bath...house.

Sliding into the refreshingly warm water, I let out a relieved sigh and sink even further into the water. Surprisingly, being in a bath of this size, is quite frankly, normal for me. Although it can get a bit lonely being the only one living in such huge property, I'm still grateful for what I have. It was then I heard the sound of… an airplane? Quite an odd sounding airplane at that.

Looking up at the windows in the bath, I wasn't able to make out what was making that odd sound due to the fogginess of the windows. Getting up to grab a towel, I quickly wrap it around my waist before walking towards the source of the sound. _Way to go, me._ I think to myself, feeling the curiosity take over my body to investigate the current situation. _I swear that that isn't an airplane._

As soon as I finish my thought, I suddenly make out the noise. A girl's voice.

"What the hell is this!? Kei didn't tell me that I would be dropped 1000km from the sky into somebody's property!" The girl screamed her voice got louder… and louder… and louder. It was then that one of the windows, and of course the one in front of me, decided to shatter, revealing the source of the screaming.

With everything happening so fast, all I could do was stare at the girl...or what was a blur of black as it got bigger and bigger before a force knocked me off of my feet and onto the floor, my vision slowly fading away as a girl with raven-black twintails appears in my view.

 **...**

"Helloooooooo? Are you awake?" A pause. "Oh, dear Goddess, I hope I didn't kill the poor man!" I hear rustling as I hear a girl's voice sound to my right. Letting out a small groan, I hear a slight gasp escape from the girl as I sit up.

As I regain my focus, I realize that I'm in the living room and on the couch. To my left is the kitchen, and to the right is a-

"GIRL!?" I let out a yelp and almost fall off of the couch in surprise, getting a flinch out of the girl right besides me.

"Um, excuse me? I'm not just _any_ girl! It's me, Noire!" She lets out a small huff and puts her hands on her hips.

"N-Noire? I thought that was a guy name as in Noir!" I blink and stare at the so-called "Noire", comparing her to the image I had in mind.

"Oh, my Goddess, what dimension have you sent me to!" Another frustrated sigh.

"Dimension?" I interrupt her plea. "There's only one 'dimension' and it's called 'Earth' as far as I know." I rub the back of my head in confusion as Noire sighs again.

"Read the letter again." Is all she says before getting up and tossing the letter at me, in which I catch in response.

"Whatever you say." I begin to read the letter again.

As I finish, she looks at me with a gaze of expectancy.

"Well?" She taps her foot on the floor.

"So you're from a place called 'Gamindustri', correct?" I look back at Noire.

"Correct."

"And apparently you were a sort of 'queen' that ruled a nation called 'Lastation'."

"Correct."

"And you're telling me th-"

"That you're going to be my servant until I can get back to Gamindustri to defeat the Seven Sages once and for all." She finishes my sentence for me, but in a different manner.

"Excuse me?"

"I said you're going to be my _servant_. Unless you wanna be my slave, which I can accept that too, but I prefer servants over slaves." She tosses one of her twintails over her shoulder.

"But it says that 'I grant you the authority to be my _guardian_ ', not servant," I refute, getting a groan out of Noire.

"Same thing." Is all she says before glancing at the clock.

"No it isn't. They're two clearly different things." I retort, only getting the silent treatment from Noire.

"Escort me to your bedroom, please." She gives me a glance of expectation.

"What? I can just let you sleep in another bedroom. There's plenty of other bedrooms throughout the house that you could use." I point behind me, which in that direction lead to the guest bedrooms.

"No thanks. Just lead me to your bedroom already! It's not like I'm scared of being alone or anything!" She huffs and I sigh. _What a cliche tsundere line._ I think to myself as I stand up and begin walking in the direction of the bedroom.

"H-hey don't leave me!" Noire pouts, but I just wave to her without looking back.

"You should follow me if you wanna see my bedroom. I'll show you another room after you've seen my bedroom so you can spend the night here." _Is this a logical thing to do, letting a girl that I had just met stay in my house for the night? Sure, she's pretty, but looks aren't everything. Noire could be plotting my murder and failed to stealthily sneak into my house by breaking one of my windows for all I know._ I think to myself as I hear Noire's footsteps gradually follow me up the stairs.

"Here we are." I open the door which leads to my bedroom.

"What a boring bedroom." Is all she says before walking into the room.

"You say that, but you're exploring the room." I reply.

"Whatever! It's just got the generic setup of a bed in the back corner, a desk on the opposite side with a computer," She pauses and walks over to the computer, giving it a nice pat. "By the way, nice setup. Do you game?" I awkwardly nod my head and she just trails her fingers off of the computer tower, smiling a little bit as she continues to examine my room.

"My room isn't an exhibit, you know." I watch as Noire opens up my closet, ignoring me as she nods with surprise.

"And here I thought that _all_ boys were messy. I bet you even cleaned up before I came here, waiting for my arrival." _I beg to differ._ I think to myself as I let out a small sigh. For me, doing chores is entertainment for me whether it be dusting the house, doing the laundry, organizing the furniture, anything that has to do with cleaning I enjoy whenever I find something that needs to be cleaned.

"Whatever you say, Noire." I let out a yawn before opening up my drawer to get my pajamas. Reaching for the usual spot for where they normally are, I find nothing but the bottom of the drawer.

"Oh, are you looking for your 'jamas? I already got you changed. You can thank me for that." It took me a second before I could realize what had happened while I was unconscious, making my face burn red.

"Wh-wh-what have you done to my body! I'm only sixteen!" I then cover up my vital spot and back up against a wall.

"Oh, will you hush up and get your mind out of the gutter!? I wouldn't do anything to harm you, or even violate you! I'm not that much of a... p-pervert!" Her face flushes up red before covering her face and squatting down in embarrassment.

"J-just get that image out of your mind already, will you?" I take a deep breath and look over at Noire, who just stares back at me with a less… friendly gaze.

"I already have, idiot. Find another bed to sleep in." I watch as she then stands up and buries herself in my bed, throwing the covers over herself.

"What are you doing!? This is _my_ room!" I begin to pull the covers off of Noire, but then realize that she already fell asleep. _What the heck? How can someone_ literally _go to sleep in less than ten seconds!?_ I let out a defeated sigh and grab a pillow from my closet, lying down on the rug besides the bed. _Who knew that my summer break literally started off with a blast?_ I think to myself, grinning to myself as I slowly begin drift off to sleep.

 **~Author's Note!~**

 **Hey, everyone! Chapter 2 is already out!? What the heck!? Totally different chapter, am I right? A bit of a shaky start as far as Hiroshi and Noire's relationship so far... but Noire's a tsun. Whaddaya expect? Hope you all enjoyed this quick chapter and have an amazing day!**


	3. Chapter 3

Cracking my eyes open, I find myself lying on the floor. Sitting up, I look over to check the time, but I find myself staring face-to-face with a sleeping girl. _That's right._ I think to myself. _Last night was what you could consider an interesting change in my life._

That girl in front of me is Noire, a fellow Gamindustrian who had managed to skydive into my house, using me as a landing pad. The only bad part is that she claims that I am her "servant". With a sigh, I sit up and look back at Noire, examining her as she peacefully sleeps.

She wears a black skirt with two stripes of gold string that line the base of the skirt along with a plain black t-shirt. In her hair, which were still tied up into a pair of twintails, were identical black ribbons, at the ends of the ribbons were white sequins that lined the edges of the ribbon. Finally being able to get a good look at Noire, she was actually really beautiful. Her face was perfectly shaped, as well as her well-maintained body.

 _Wh-what am I doing, examining a girl while she sleeps! I'm such a creep!_ I distract myself from observing Noire by getting up and heading to the bathroom.

Staring at myself in the mirror, I let out a wide yawn, grabbing my toothbrush and applying toothpaste. _What a boring person I am_. I stare at my dark brunette locks that were messily arranged on my head.

As I begin to brush my teeth, I hear a small yawn escape the bedroom. Hearing footsteps approach the bathroom, I pull out a toothbrush and toss it out of the door, receiving a yelp, which turned into a growl.

"Hiroshi! Don't scare me like that!" She huffs at me as she stomps into the bathroom, turning on the faucet and washes her face before slamming the toothbrush onto the sink counter. All I could do is mumble a few muffled phrases to Noire as I continue brushing my teeth.

"Toothpaste." She commands, in which I toss her a packet of toothpaste, which was labeled, "Noire".

"Aww," she says sarcastically. "how sweet of you to label my name and everything!" I roll my eyes and spit out my toothpaste into the sink.

"You're welcome." I then make my way out of the bathroom.

"By the way," I say, turning to look at Noire, who is busying herself by opening the toothbrush package, "we're having shrimp omelets for breakfast. If you don't like shrimp or omelets, there's cereal on the counter."

"Oho?" Well that caught her attention. "I don't mind any food, just as long as it's edible I'll eat it." She lets out a small chuckle and I grin.

"Well then I'm sure I will be able to satisfy your sensitive palate." I taunt Noire and head down the stairs and into the kitchen without waiting for a retort.

"Something smells good! I like it." Noire beings to hum to herself as I hear her coming down the stairs.

"It's breakfast. That's what smells good." I reply, flawlessly flipping an omelet onto its backside.

"I'll be looking forward to it, Hiroshi~" She teases me with the tone of her voice and I just sigh, chopping up some tomatoes and onions before adding it into the omelet mix.

"By the way," Noire walks over to the kitchen and besides me as I cook, "I'll take the one with the tomatoes and onions." she then walks over to the table and takes a seat, twirling her hair with her fingers.

"Sure thing, Cap'n. Whatever you say, goes." I say sarcastically, folding the omelet in half before sliding it onto my plate, starting to work on Noire's omelet.

"Will you stop mocking me like that? It's quite annoying." She huffs and beings to play with her nails.

"Of course. Or is it that you've already changed me to speak like how I do?" I flip the omelet and begin to fry the bacon and rice on separate pans.

"Oh quit it, would you? Don't make me come over there."

"And do what?" I cock my head back to find Noire staring down at me.

"Something you wouldn't expect me to do." She huffs and crosses her arms over her chest.

"Like what? I'm still making breakfast, you know." I ignore her stare and continue cooking.

"I can cook too." She bumps me with her hips before grabbing a spatula off of the utensil rack and begins to manage the rice.

"I'm surprised that you can actually do something besides boss somebody around. Who taught you?"

Noire ignores my comment and continues to cook the rice. "A friend of mine." She pauses. "Back in Gamindustri." She mumbles. An awkward silence rose between the two of us as we continue cooking the meal. _Noire must be dreading upon returning back to Gamindustri, isn't she._

"I'm just fini-" I begin to say.

"The rice i-" Noire says. We both fall silent, knowing what the other was going to say, plating the rest of the food and sitting down.

"Now that breakfast is over," Noire takes a sideways look at me as the two of us wash the dishes and pans. "What next?"

"It's up to you, Noire. You're the one who's in 'charge' of me." I pass a washed plate to Noire, who dries it and puts it on the dish rack next to her.

"I'll let you decide that. I don't have anything relevant for us-" She interrupts herself with a cough. " _you_ to do at the moment."

"Well, we could always go shopping to get you some clothing if you wanna do that." I blatantly put the suggestion out there, receiving an excited nod.

"W-well, we could definitely do something like that! Th-there's only one problem…" She stutters, setting the dish she had just finished cleaning onto the dish rack.

"And what is that?" I say, handing her the last dish of the bunch.

"I…" Her face burns red, for it looks as if she's trying to force herself to say something. "I don't have any money to buy clothes with."

"No worries, I can pay for the clothing." I respond, looking down at Noire, who's eyes light up.

"R-really!?" She looks at me, a grin appearing on her face.

"Yeah." I then scratch my cheek, which was increasingly burning red, and look away from Noire. "D-don't thank me for buying you clothes. It's just that you won't survive with just one pair of clothing." _And now I'm becoming a tsundere? What the hell is all of this about!?_

"S-sure…" She awkwardly agrees with me before setting the dish aside.

"Anyway!" I grin, drying my hands on a towel. "Let's get shopping before it gets too late!" Noire nods and follows me to the front, where we then depart from the house and onto our journey to the shopping district.

"Woah, this actually looks like a Lastation mall!" Noire's eyes shine as we enter the automatic sliding glass doors. Displayed in front of us were hundreds of stores spread all across the mall.

"Wh-what's that supposed to mean?" Noire ignores my comment and begins to wander around the mall, peeking at the display arranged behind the windows of the stores.

Following Noire around the stores, she suddenly stops and turns to look at me, pointing at what looks like your "above average" place to shop. "Can we go to this store?"

"If that's where you would like to go, then we can go." I say, following Noire, who had already managed to find her way into the store and into the skirt section.

 _The only thing that I have to worry about,_ I think to myself as I pat the back pocket that held my wallet. _Is how much she's going to spend on clothes._

 **…**

"Hiroshi!" Noire's voice calls out from the changing room, grabbing the attention of everyone in the whole store. Walking over to Noire, trying to avoid the stares, I lean against the wall besides the stall that Noire is in.

"Wh-what is it?" I say, turning my head in the direction of where she was changing. "Even though you were a former ruler of a country, you shouldn't be carelessly shouting out like that! You just disturbed the whole store, you know."

"Sh-shut up! I-it isn't that big of a deal!" She huffs but I could tell that she felt guilty on the inside.

"So what is it that you need me to help you with?"

"H-help me put on my bra…" She mumbles.

"Your bra!?" An image appears in my mind but I immediately crush it as I clear my throat. "I-I'll just get one of the staff members to help you! I'll be right back." I quickly excuse myself in search for a staff member, who immediately comes over to our assistance.

As the woman and I walked back to the changing room, she turns to me and says, "Are you going shopping with your girlfriend?"

"She's not my girlfriend." I immediately respond, but then quickly recover. "Sh-she's just a relative from another country and she wanted to see what the clothing was like here in Ksugakari."

"I see." Is all she says, before knocking on the side of the doorway in which past it was Noire. "I'm coming in to help assist you, is that alright with you?"

"Y-yes, come on in." Noire stammers, as if not expecting for someone to come.

Watching as the woman enters the stall, I let out a sigh of relief and lean against the wall again. Checking my phone, it reads, 13:35. _Have we seriously been shopping for nearly an hour and a half? Man, time flies by_. I close my phone and slip it into my pocket, right as the woman exits the stall.

"Just let me know if you need any more help, alright?" She then gives me a wink that seemed to say, "you struck it rich with this girl" before walking around the store, managing misaligned clothing. Watching as Noire steps out of the changing stall, I stare at her in awe.

She had walked out wearing a white t-shirt, the collar having a black outline and the bottom of the shirt not quite reaching past her bellybutton, and a pair of yoga pants.

"How do I look?" She examines herself by turning her body and striking a couple of poses.

"I-it looks good on you." I stutter, glancing away from Noire. "But why did you choose an attire that makes you look like you're about ready to exercise?"

"Well you've gotta stay fit in order to maintain such a perfect body like mine, you know?" She tosses one of her twintails behind her before walking back into the changing room. "I'll be showing you various outfits and you're gonna tell me how they look on me, got it?" I nod, maybe a bit _too_ eagerly, and she begins to change into another outfit.

"That'll be 927826 yen, please." The cashier gives us a smile and I respond with a look of dread as I pull out my credit card and swipe it, watching as the allowance that I had built up over the past months disappear right before my eyes… on clothing. _How do girls manage to spend hundreds of thousands of cash on clothing!?_ I watch as the cashier puts the items in the bags.

"Thank you for your purchases!" She thanks us as we walk out of the store, about ten full bags end up in my hands.

"Wh-why'd you have to buy so much clothing!? Do you know how much that cost!?" I angrily vent to Noire, who just shrugs.

"To answer your first question, it's for every occasion that pops into my mind. Parties, pajamas, swimsuits, casual, dates, fine dining, dances." She counts each "occasion" in her fingers. "As for your second question, _you_ were the one who said that _you_ could pay for the clothing." She pokes me in the chest, making me groan.

"Sh-shut up! It would be horrible for me to not pay for you!" I feel my face heat up a little bit.

"How sweet of you." At least she acknowledged my response.

"So," I quickly switch the topic before it would go any further. "What next?"

As soon as I finish my sentence, we both hear a growling stomach and Noire's face turned bright red.

"Lunch it is." I speak for Noire's stomach, and in reply, she just nods her head with embarrassment, biting her lip. "Follow me, I'll show you the perfect place."

"Here we are." I look at Noire, acknowledging the restaurant before us, the Orchid.

"And the name?" Noire points at the sign, which showcased the restaurant's name.

"Not my choice, so don't ask me." I then turn around and hold open the door for Noire. "Ladies first."

Entering the restaurant, we were met by a fresh, cool breeze. Since the restaurant is a fairly small one, almost every single table was filled up with customers, each requesting for a waiter or waitress.

"Hey, it's Hiroshi!" A man steps out from the kitchen with a wide grin.

"Long time no see, Kagumi!" I grin, setting down the bags of clothing while exchanging a handshake with my friend.

"And who's this beautiful girl that you've brought with you? Your girlfriend?"

"No."

"No." Noire and I immediately shut Kagumi down, getting a sigh of defeat out of him.

"We're just friends is all." I speak up, getting a surprised yelp out of Noire, in which I chose to ignore.

"Y-yeah, that's right." Is all she mumbles as she fiddles with her thumb, deciding to play along with me.

"Well, why don't take your friend to a table so that you two can chat. I'll take the bags." He kindly offers, in which I accept, handing the bags to him and turning to Noire.

"Alright, follow me." I say, beckoning for her to follow as I begin to walk deeper into the restaurant. Scoping out the area, I find a table for the two of us and direct us there.

"Even though this isn't of the highest quality of a restaurant based on its looks, I'm looking forward to the food." Noire evaluates the scenario around us as I pull back her chair, allowing her to take a seat and look at the menu that I had brought for her. "What do you normally get here?"

"Nothing on the menu." I take the menu out of her hand, making her look up at me with a pout. "I make my own."

"Oho? I never knew you worked here." She then looks at me with a hint of surprise. "Allow me to try the one that you make." I grin and roll up my sleeves.

"I'm famous for my ramen specialty, you know!" I then hear someone call out.

"Hiroshi! Hit me up with your specialty dish!" A customer orders, followed by few more orders of the specialty, and I nod, taking note of how many I need to make.

"I'll be right back." I say, heading into the kitchen.

Entering the kitchen, I begin to craft the broth when Kagumi and a couple other of my coworkers approach me.

"Hey, tell me about this 'Noire' chick that Kagumi has been ranting about!" Sakuto, another chef at the Orchid, leans up against my shoulder as I add the ingredients for the broth.

"A really bossy tsundere is who she is." I blatantly reply, getting a groan out of Sakuto.

"Come on! Tell me about the goods! What's her cup size? Is she hot? Have you seen he-"

"You have an order at Table Seventeen." I interrupt him, beginning to make the noodles.

"Alright, whatever you say!" He grins and strides out of the room.

"Seriously though," Kagumi looks at me from the side as he continues to work on the broth to my right. "She can't be _that_ horrible of a person. Normally girls like her are a tough nut to crack, so just give it time."

"Are you saying this from past experiences?" Kagumi is in his early forties, and he's been divorced seven times now.

"Yeah, of course I am. Just tellin' you things that I wasn't able to do."

"Alright, whatever you say." I begin to shred the noodles into the ramen noodle base.

"Whend'ja meet meet the girl anyway? And how?" I look at him with a slight laugh.

"It's quite different than your average encounter with a girl so are you ready?" He nods.

 **...**

" _She_ knocked _you_ out?" He bursts out laughing, setting his utensil that he had been using on a plate. "That's all bogus! And first of all, how does someone fall from the sky and perfectly crash through a window and right into a person! She must be outside of this world!" _Literally._ I think to myself as I grab a few bowls to start plating the food.

"It wasn't _my_ fault that I ended up getting knocked out! I'm just surprised that I wasn't killed in the process!" I sigh and begin to put all of the ingredients together to craft the ramen.

Sakuto then peeks his head through the doorway and gives me a double thumbs-up as well as a wink and a grin.

"She's my type! Hit me up with her number later, will ya?" He then walks over to the pantry to work on his requests.

"Why don't you ask her yourself? I'm sure you would be a lot happier knowing how she would respond." _With a definite "No"._ I sigh to myself and Sakuto nods.

"I'll go ahead and do that after I'm finished." He's actually serious.

"Well I'll be serving the food now. It's nice seeing you guys again." I grab the bowls and begin to serve the customers that requested my specialty.

"Here you go, Noire." I set the bowl of ramen in front of Noire to find her munching on some potstickers. "Who gave you the gyoza?"

"This waiter named Sakuto. Though, he looked like some kind of a pervert." She finishes the last potsticker with a lick of her lips. "The potstickers were good though, I'll give it that.

"He's gonna ask for your number." I say, giving thanks before beginning to eat my ramen. "What're you gonna do?"

"Obviously not give him my number." She huffs before taking a slurp of noodles, letting out a moan of delight. "This is _really_ good! Who taught you how to make it?"

"Me, myself and I. They were a huge help." I sarcastically say in between each bite.

"Who knew I could pinpoint a guy who can do everything? I sure am lucky." She happily mumbles to herself, taking a sip of the broth.

"You sure are." I grin, taking in another string of noodles. "Without me, who's gonna take care of you?"

"W-well, obviously myself! Who else?" She retorts, crossing her arms over her chest with a huff.

"Whatever, you tsundere. Just be grateful that I'm here with you." I shoot back at her.

"I-I am _not_ a tsundere!" She pouts before busying herself with her ramen.

"Whatever you say." I say and we continue to eat our ramen without much more conversation.

Sakuto manages to catch us before we leave and asks Noire for her number, in which she politely declines the offer, directing for the two of us to leave before anything more could happen.

As we walk out of the restaurant, I pull out phone and check the time. 15:47. It reads. _Do I normally take this long out in the mall?_ I glance over at Noire, who has her focus directed ahead of her as we wander throughout the mall. _I've never really had any friends since I've entered high school, so it's a new experience, being able to spend time with Noire._ I let out a sigh, getting a sideways glance out of Noire.

"What is it?" I stare back at Noire, who awkwardly breaks eye contact with me.

"N-nothing…" She mumbles, making me scratch my head in confusion. _She used to be all hard-headed, but now she's just like a shy girl who I've just met for the first time. Tsunderes are quite the interesting species._

"We're going shopping for dinner, if that's alright with you." I speak up, breaking the awkward silence between the two of us.

"Yeah… sure." A totally non-focused response comes out of Noire's mouth. Trying to ignore the suspicious response, we continue to make our way to the supermarket.

"Do you wanna shop together or go our separate ways to get the ingredients faster?" I give Noire the two options as we enter the supermarket.

"I'd like to shop with you." She responds, grabbing a basket from the neatly stacked pile. "Just so that I can get a general feel for what the supermarket is like."

"Alright. I'll get the ingredients and you can hold the phone." I take the basket from her and trade it for the phone.

We then begin to make our ways down the aisles, grabbing each item on the list with perfect cooperation-Noire reading out the items, and me being the navigator. Observing our teamwork, I realize that Noire isn't all that bad at following directions and can easily adapt to certain situations, although some better than others.

Realizing that we're already finished with the shopping list, the two of us end up making our way to the cashier.

"That will be 3568 yen." I swipe my credit card as the cashier puts the items in plastic bags, handing them to me and Noire. Turning to leave, the two of us begin to make our way back to the house.

"This took longer than I had thought." I speak up, breaking the silence between us as we walk down a street, heading up the hill.

"Well, then you're _obviously_ not prepared for what's in store for the future," Noire retorts, making me sigh.

"You're damn right about that." I make a sideways glance at Noire, in which she stares right back into my eyes, her bright red eyes shining in the sunset haze. The two of us fall back into silence as the house comes into view. Walking through the gates, Noire suddenly pauses, making me turn around in response.

"Hiroshi." She looks up at me with a different look than what I was used to seeing.

"What is it, Noire?" I slightly lower my shoulders to release a bit more tension in my shoulders.

"Th-thank you…" She quickly mumbles before rushing into the house, kicking the door closed as she enters the building.

 _What an odd girl she is._ I sigh to myself and open the door, entering the house to put away the ingredients.

Walking up the stairs to the bedroom, I hear the rustling of paper bags sound from my room. Peeking my head through the doorframe, I notice Noire rearranging my closet and drawers. Various piles of clothing were laid out before her and each stack of clothing was carefully carried and placed in the drawers they belonged in.

"OCD much?" I say, grinning as I see Noire flinch in surprise before she lets out a huff.

"More like I'm helping you become an even _more_ organized person as well as making space for my own clothing to fit in as well." She crossing her arms over her chest as she puffs out her chest triumphantly.

"And how exactly are you supposed to fit ten full bags-worth of clothing into one set of drawers and one closet?" I test Noire, only getting out a cocky chuckle.

"You'll see, Hiroshi. I'll figure something out." She slides another stack of clothes into its proper place in the wardrobe before pulling some clothing out of the bags and folding those.

"Well, I'll be working on dinner."

Heading down and into the kitchen, I begin to prepare the ingredients for dinner: chicken katsu. _Noire is quite the interesting girl, now that I think about it. Sure, she's the most typical tsundere you're ever gonna get, but she still has a sort of innocent and cute side to her._ I start to make the crust of the katsu by separating each evolutionary ingredient in separate bowls. _I'm surprised to see myself being around such an awkward girl for even a day. Normally I would be the type to chicken out and just merge in with the group, but for some reason, Noire is different. It's as if we're tied together by some sort of trait that helps us connect or something like that._ Plugging in the deep fryer, I begin to prepare the tool for later. _Maybe I'm overthinking this. It could just be that I'm just worried that something bad might happen if I leave her alone and by herself._ I let out a frustrated sigh and begin to add the crust layer to the chicken breasts. _Was it really a good choice to let her stay here with me?_ I ponder on that question as I continue to prepare the meal.

"Dinner is ready!" I call out to Noire, who just gives me a mumbled reply, clearly putting the organization of our clothing first and not the meal. Taking one of the plates upstairs, I open the door to find Noire still on the floor, taking care of what looks like the last pile of clothing.

"Want me to leave the food here or would you like to eat downstairs?" I give her the two options, the smell of the katsu wafting through the doorway and into the room.

"I-I'll eat downstairs. I'm just about finished anyway. Just eat without me." I sigh and exit the room, heading back down the stairs. As I set the plate down on the dining table, I grab two pairs of chopsticks, placing them down next to each plate _. Noire definitely is a dedicated person to get things done immediately._ I check the time on the clock. 20:58.

Glancing back at the staircase, which lead up to the bedrooms, I hear soft, but hurried, footsteps make their way down the stairs and into the dining room, revealing Noire.

"I told you not to wait for me, you idiot!" She huffs, sitting down at her seat and grabs her chopsticks, giving thanks before digging in.

"It would be rude of me to eat before you do." I sigh and begin eating as well.

"Says who?"

"My integrity."

"Well tell your integrity to go by what I say."

"And if it doesn't wanna?" We both take another bite.

"Then I'm going to kick you out of the house."

"Like hell you're going to do that."

"You wanna test that?"

"My stomach says otherwise." I end that topic by taking a bite out of my katsu, hearing the crispy crunch of the breadcrumbs.

"I'll take care of the dishes once we're all finished." Noire speaks up, taking another bite of her meal.

"No, I'll do it. You need to head to bed after this. It's almost a quarter till ten." I blatantly reply, getting a glare from Noire.

"Stop trying to be a dad! We're both about the same age, you know! _I_ will take care of the dishes tonight, and that's final! Got it?" Her bright red eyes seemed to glow as she harshly snapped back at me.

"Okay, okay. You can do the dishes tonight." I finish the last bite on my plate before walking over to the counter and setting my plate in the sink. "I'll be upstairs." I make my way upstairs and into the bedroom, leaving Noire to finish her meal.

Entering my room, I let out a frustrated sigh before flopping down onto my bed, face first. _Am I being too stubborn? I normally don't act like this in front of people at all._ I think to myself as I roll over and stare at the ceiling. _I think I should lighten up how I act towards Noire, shouldn't I._ I turn to my side and stare at my alarm clock, which read 21:52.

Hearing footsteps come up the stairs, they pass by the doorway and make their way into the bathroom, where the faucet begins to run, wetting the toothbrush that began to brush Noire's teeth. I sigh and roll out of bed, refluffing the blanket and pillow before making my way into the bathroom.

"I hope you did a thorough job cleaning the dishes," I say, beginning to brush my teeth, getting an eye roll out of Noire. As she spits out her toothpaste, she takes a small glance at me before passing me without a word, making her way into the bedroom.

Finishing my round of brushing my teeth, I wander into the bedroom to find my pillow set up on the floor and a sleeping Noire on my bed.

Lying down on the carpet, I stare at the ceiling, evaluating what had happened today. _I nearly spent a million yen on clothing, ingredients and food, but I guess it's worth it, being able to spend the day with Noi-._ I stop myself from finishing the thought. _Noire's been on my mind for nearly this entire day, hasn't she?_ I look over at Noire to find her staring back at me.

"Wh-what is it?" I softly mumble, my face burning red from the embarrassment.

"Th-thanks for everything again… Really." She stammers before burying herself in the covers.

"There's no need to thank me." I reply, staring at the blanket which covered Noire. "I'm just doing the best to be your 'Guardian'."

* * *

 **~Author's Note!~**

 **Hey, everyone! Sorry about the late update! I was supposed to get the chapter out on Friday (two days ago to be exact), but then I forgot about it... BECAUSE!**

...There's a new book cover...

 **B-but it's not like you went back to check or anything, I swear! *coughs* anyway, it's hand drawn! You may be asking, "What!? You draw?" Or some of you are like, "Oh, cool now move on." BUT I WILL TELL YOU ANYWAY! I am a digital artist, and if you enjoy my stories...then you should also check out my deviantart HelloEveryonelol. *(Most of the drawings are bad, except for a couple of them...but still they're bad so check them out if you'd like xDD)**

 **ANYWAY! Without further ado, hope you enjoyed the story, and have an _amazing_ day! And sorry for the late post! ''**


	4. Chapter 4

"Hiroshiiiiiii!" Noire's voice calls out to me from downstairs.

"What?" I call back to her, taking off my headset as I wait to hear her request.

"I'm boooooored!" So much for being a request.

It's been three weeks since the day that I had met Noire: the day that had changed my life forever. Nothing much had really changed except for Noire's level of comfortability with being in my house… or I should say, our house. I had gradually come to accept Noire as a member of the house and we were able to get along fairly well, setting up a cleaning schedule, as well as a rotation schedule of gaming.

"How can you be bored!?" I protest, going back to my game, selecting a skill from an arrangement of skills before unleashing it onto an enemy.

"I've run out of things to do on all of your console games!"

"Then why don't you try out my PC games?" I call down to the gamer girl, who makes her way up the stairs.

"Because," I feel a poke at the top of my head. "You don't let me go on the computer at _all_!" Rubbing the spot she poked, I let out a sigh as I clear the rest of the enemies, completing the mission.

"You could just ask me to go on. I would let you go on anytime… besides any time that I'm in a mission or dungeon." I say, pulling up the different schedules on my computer.

"Besides," I click on the gaming schedule. "When we went over the schedules, you never bothered to request playing on the PC."

"B-but that's because I didn't wanna disturb your gaming time on your computer!" Noire begins to pout. "That computer is even custom made, so I wouldn't wanna ruin anything either!"

"H-How do you even know that it's custom made?" I glance down at my PC, which lets off a green and blue haze as a fan happily whirs inside of the tower.

"I-I've done my research." She just keeps it at that.

"Uh huh." I sigh and save my progress, exiting the game before turning around to face Noire. "Well, do you wanna play on my PC or not?"

Her eyes light up as she eagerly nods. _Geez,_ I think to myself as I get out of my chair, Noire immediately sitting herself down in my chair with a happy squeal. _This is the only time when she actually acts like a normal girl._ Watching as she browses my game library, I take a seat on the edge of my bed.

"You know, Hiroshi," She stops browsing my games and turns to look at me. "I have an idea." Glancing at Noire with a gaze of uncertainty, I watch as she gets up and begins to make her way out of the room.

She then peeks her head back, staring at me with a glare. "Well, what are you waiting for! Follow me!" Immediately getting up, the two of us make our way down to the console gaming room.

* * *

 **•[•]•[•] Noire [•]•[•]•**

Taking a seat on a couch in the living room, I toss a blue Plaestation controller at Hiroshi, watching him easily catch it with one hand. _Drat. I wanted it to hit his face._ I sigh, pulling up the game library.

"What's the plan?" I hear Hiroshi say, taking a seat on the same couch, but on the opposite side.

"I challenge you," I suddenly stand up, surprising myself with the sudden actions, pointing a finger at Hiroshi with provocation. "To a race!"

"And..?" My eyebrow twitches as he completely shatters the intense atmosphere of the scenario.

"Wh-what do you mean, 'And'!? You were supposed to respond with 'Fine, take me on! I'll crush you'!" I slump back down onto the couch with a defeated grumble. "L-let's just play, okay?"

"Whatever you say." _What a party pooper._

Selecting our cars, I turn to Hiroshi with a sudden thought in mind, having already selected my car for the race. "Hey, Hiroshi?"

"Yeah?" I watch as Hiroshi finally decides on which car he's gonna drive.

"How do you have so much money to pay for all of this furniture and luxuries?" I take a good look around the room as I speak.

"I don't." _What did he just say?_

"You don't!?" The race begins to count down. "What's that supposed to mean!?"

"If I win, then you don't need to know. If you win, then I'll spill the beans. Deal?" He revved the engine of his car as the countdown got to its last few seconds.

"Whatever. I'm gonna win anyway." I say with a cocky grin as the race begins.

 **...**

"I told you that I would win." I triumphantly put my hands on my hips as Hiroshi lets out a defeated, literally, sigh.

"Fine. You win." He then gets up to put his controller away.

"Well are you gonna spill the beans or what?" I huff, giving Hiroshi an expectant stare.

"O-oh." He rubs the back of his head. "Right." is all he says before sitting back down on the couch.

"Ready whenever you are." I say, propping one leg up on the couch, the other dangling off of the side.

"This sounds like you're making me do a presentation for school or something like that." He lets out a chuckle and I just glare at him.

"Just say it already!"

"F-fine!" He then clears his throat. "Around 90% of all of this property, including the house, isn't of my property." I look at him with a surprised look.

"Continue."

Giving me a hesitant look, he then continues. "My parents sort of… 'left' me to continue their work. And as hugely famous scientists, known around the _whole_ world, they had to focus more on their work than they did on me. It was at the beginning of middle school when they decided to bring me here. All they said to me as they dropped me off was, 'There's about 55 million yen waiting for you in the kitchen. Have a great day at school, dear.'" He then pauses and takes a deep breath. "Why am I telling you all of this..?" He mumbles to himself before getting up and leaving the room.

"What's with that answer?" I speak out loud, but on the inside was a different response. _What's with Hiroshi? Did I accidentally push a button that I shouldn't've pushed?_ I ponder on what he had said, going back into the game lobby and selecting another gamemode to play.

* * *

•[•]•[•] Hiroshi [•]•[•]•

Quietly closing the door behind me, I lean against the door and slide down it with a sigh. _Why did I just reveal such private information with Noire? I've never shared it with anyone, not even my brother, although I'm sure he knows about it anyway._ Getting up, I dust off my pants before walking over to my bed, lying down and staring up at the ceiling.

Suddenly I hear footsteps coming up the stairs and they stop in front of the bedroom. After what feels like hours of silence and anticipation, I heard the door crack open, revealing one of Noire's twintails and half of her head. Watching as Noire slowly enters the room, she then closes the door behind her and leans against it.

"I'm sorry." She mumbles, making me turn my head to look at her.

"What for?" I speak up, looking at Noire, who's face is cast downwards with a slight frown on it.

"Making you talk about a sensitive topic."

"Don't worry about it. I just got a bit too defensive since I was the one who even rambled on about the topic itself. It isn't _that_ private to me, it's just that I surprised myself when telling it to you for the very first time." I realized that I had just lied both to myself and Noire, getting up and walking in front of her, watching as she looks back up at me, her bright red eyes full of curiosity as to what I would be doing next.

Placing my hands on her shoulders, getting a small "eep" out of her, I gently move her to the side and open the door. "Let's play some more games, shall we?" She nods, a finger in between her lips as if she were biting on it as her face was bright red, following me out of the room and back into the living room.

 **...**

"How are you so good at gaming, Noire!?" I groan and set my controller to my side. Almost every game she has been beating me, and it wasn't even that close when she beat me.

"Hehehe…" She triumphantly laughs to herself as she mockingly strikes a victory pose. "I'm just too perfect to have any flaws, you see! Is that all of your console games?"

"Y-yes… that's the last of them…" I look back at the TV screen, which had been turned off, showing the reflection of Noire and me in it.

"Well," Noire smirks and leans forward in front of me. "We could play a game of…" She then taps me on the head, yelling, "Tag! You're it!" She then bursts out of the room, leaving me to question what had just happened.

"We're not little kids anymore, Noire! But two can play this game!" I grin, getting up in search for Noire.

Exiting the room. I hear the rustle of carpet behind me and I turn back to smell a refreshing smell of strawberries. Turning back around, I notice Noire's twintails slip behind the doorway, which lead to the hallway of the guest rooms.

"Gotcha…" I walk into each guest room, searching each one to see if she were any, but as I get to the last room, I find the window wide open. _Did that girl seriously just jump out of the window?_ I let out a groan and shut the window, heading out of the door with a pair of shoes on.

As I make my way outside, I find Noire attempting to sneak back into the house.

"Oi, Noire! Get back here!" I then charge at her, chasing her back into the yard, where it was an open field. Since me, being a former track champion, a sprinter at that, gave me an advantage, I quickly catch up to Noire and tackle her, pinning her down on the grass with a grin.

"Finally I got you!" I look down at her with a grin, finding her face entirely red.

"D-did you _seriously_ have to go all out like this?" She attempts to shrug me off, but I hold still.

"Well I finally caught you. That's all that matters."

"Well then what comes next is you getting off of me." I feel her squirm under me and I immediately get up, my face burning red.

"S-sorry, I didn't mean to full-on tackle you." I stand up, holding out a hand to Noire, who gratefully accepts my offer as I pull her up.

"Geez!" She lets out a pout of complaint. "You've just got me all dirty because you tackled me!"

"Well it wasn't my fault that _someone_ decided to start the game of Tag!" I begin to make my way back to the house. "You can take a bath first. I'll prepare the bath for you. You should know where the bath since that's where we met." The last phrase, under normal circumstances, would sound extremely abnormal, but for the two of us, it was just like asking where the TV remote was.

"Okay, you go ahead and do that while I gather my clothes." She follows me into the house before the two of us begin to prep for the bath.

"The bath is ready, Noire!" I call out to Noire, who comes down the stairs, greeting me with her clothes on one arm and my clothes in the other.

"Here." She hands me my set of clothes before heading into the bathhouse, where she lets out a relieved sigh and closed the door behind her. Hearing Noire begin to hum as she makes her way over to the bath, I busy myself with cleaning around the house.

* * *

•[•]•[•] Noire [•]•[•]•

Sinking into the oversized bath, I let out a moan of pleasure as I feel the warm water wash over my body. _Why did his parents just leave him like that? I mean, I can understand why someone would choose for work to be their first priority, even though it's cruel, over their child, but still. Why?_ I ponder on that thought, sinking deeper into the water until it touches my chin. _Since he's going to be a sophmore in high school next year, he must've been living alone for a solid... five years!_ My eyes widen in surprise as I do the math in my head. _Why would someone spend so much money on their child and just abandon him like that!_ I grumble to myself, watching the bubbles escape through the water, surfacing at the top.

"And I thought baths were supposed to help you relax!" I pout, taking a deep breath before fully submerging myself into the water, allowing the heat to flow through my body. _It's no wonder Hiroshi gave me such a brief answer when I won the bet. Sooner or later he's gonna spill the information whether he likes it or not._ I then raise my head above the water, brushing the hair out of my face before standing up and walking over to get a towel, wrapping it around my body to dry off.

As I begin to dress myself after drying my hair, I begin to think about the situation before me. _I wouldn't be telling a stranger anything if I were to be the one with a secret just like Hiroshi did. W-Well I mean I do have secrets that I don't want anyone knowing, but th-that's besides the point!_ I begin to tie up my hair into two twintails which fall just below my waist.

"Hiroshi! It's time for you to take a bath!" There's no response. Calling his name a few more times, and still not getting a response, I manage to make my way into the bedroom… or I should say our bedroom. Entering the room, I find Hiroshi passed out on the bed, still in his dirty day clothes. Walking over to take him up, I stop, hearing him take shaky breaths. It was then that I notice a couple of wet spots on the blanket. _Did he just cry himself to sleep?_ I pull my hand away from shaking him awake and turn around, trying to ignore what I had just seen. Did I do something wrong? _Did I press the wrong button and set off an emotion that I shouldn't've set off?_ I try to shrug off my thoughts about the situation, wandering downstairs, finding myself playing a shooter game on the Plaestation.

* * *

 **~Author's Note!~**

 **Hey, everyone! I actually updated it on time for once (be proud of me senpai ;w;)! Anyway, a bit of drama in the end, eh? But hey, at least they're getting to know each other a little better :3 Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and stay tuned for the next chapter to come!**


	5. Chapter 5

•[•]•[•] Hiroshi [•]•[•]•

Opening my eyes, I find myself staring at a wall. _Did I just cry myself to sleep?_ I sit up and rub my eyes, feeling the dried tears on my cheeks. _What a wuss I am, crying at some stupid memory._ I angrily vent to myself before getting up and out of the bed. _To be completely honest, I was scared to share a memory like that with Noire. I could've easily shared it with Kagumi and he would totally be cool with it and possibly even help me. Why Noire?_

Walking down the stairs, I hear the clicking of a controller to my right. Smiling to myself, I silently slip into the bath house, sliding the glass door closed.

"Boo!" I place my hands on Noire's shoulders and give them a squeeze, making Noire let out a ear-piercing scream, making me regret my decision to scare her in the first place.

"Wh-wh-wh-what was that for, Hiroshi!? I was so close to beating the level!" She pouts at me, turning around and puffing out her cheeks in annoyance.

"It was to show you that I'm all better." I grin and hop over the couch, taking a seat next to her and grabbing a controller as I do so.

"S-so you found out, huh?" She exits the main screen of the game she was playing and keeps her focus on the game library, not taking a glance at me.

"I was just taking a guess." I shrug, making her face burn red.

"Wh-what the hell, Hiroshi!? Stop teasing me already!" She lets out a small growl as she complains to me, her hands tightening on the controller as if wanting to smack me.

"Fine, fine. Whatever you say, Master." I grin and she just groans, picking a FPS game.

"Rematch?" I look at Noire, who just gives me a look that says "Fight me."

"Sure, why not." I prop myself up onto the couch, my legs crossed over one another.

"Well, just saying," She grins and customizes the game settings. "You're gonna get crushed again. FPSs are my forte."

"Who knows? I could totally just stomp you too." I return with a retort, only getting a cocky huff out of Noire.

"Game on!"

 **...**

"So we're tied, huh?" I let out a relieved sigh, leaning back into the couch, dropping my controller to the side at the score on the screen reveals the two numbers, 45:46.

"That was really close, I'd have to admit." She huffs, and places her controller on the coffee table in front of us. "B-but it was because I was going easy on you is all!"

"Oh stop lying, you tsundere! I'm not gonna rematch you again!" I groan, getting a glare out of Noire.

"Wh-what!? I'm _not_ a tsundere, and I _wasn't_ gonna ask you for a rematch!" She gets up and stares at me, attempting to shatter the victory smirk that was plastered on my face, but ended up failing terribly.

"Whatever you say, Noire. At the end of the day, a tsundere is gonna stay a tsundere." I put away my controller and begin to walk to the kitchen to prepare dinner. As I make my way out of the archway leading to the kitchen, I feel a hand grip the back of my collar, pulling me back into the room.

"One more game." The seriousness of her voice had totally thrown me off guard, making me look at her, finding her glaring at me. _Man, she doesn't wanna be the one to lose, huh?_

"Winner gets to choose what's for dinner no matter how expensive it is and the loser has to pay for it." I add the last part with a sly grin, making Noire's eyes widen for a split second befor-

* * *

 **Nepu!**

 **What the heck, Neptune!?**

 **Wh-what's wrong with my perfectly perfect and flawless interruption of the storyline?**

 **EVERYTHING NEPTUNE! THIS IS A STORY ABOUT NOIRE AND NOT YOU!**

 **B-b-b-but can I at least make a small appearance in the story…? Pwease?**

 **No.**

 **Bu-**

 **No.**

 **Not even once?**

 **You already have made your entrance with this. I'm sure you'll be able to demolish more fourth walls in the future, don't worry.**

 **Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine! Just this once I will let you go for now. But soon I shall make my arrival once again! MWAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-**

* * *

"I swear I could've heard Neptune laughing in the distance." Noire looks around us with a confused look, but returns to happily smile as she puts her hands behind her back while we walk down the street to the requested restaurant made by the winner of the duel.

"That game was so stupid! Just because you got that lucky headshot in the last five seconds!" We were tied 20-20 with ten seconds left. I was hiding behind a bush in the map when Noire decided to suddenly spray down the area around her, getting a lucky headshot on me right before the timer went off, breaking the tie at 21-20.

"You gotta do what you've gotta do in order to win the game!" She grins and looks up at me, finding me glaring back at her.

Clearing my throat, I quickly switch the topic before it could turn into a heated discussion. "So, where are we headed for dinner?"

"You could say that we're headed out for quite the fancy dinner. Although not fancy enough to go fine dining, since we don't have the proper clothing for it." She explains with a flip of her twintails.

"That's true. I just wonder how much it's gonna hurt my credit card." The flashback of Noire buying clothes at the mall and staring at the overpriced cost of the clothing made me shudder in regret, making Noire cast a glance of confusion at me.

"Oh, I'm sure it won't hurt _that_ much." She emphasizes on "that", making me let out a groan.

"I still can't believe you won…" I sigh, getting a frustrated grumble out of Noire.

"And I still can't believe that you're still complaining about the fact that a girl is better than you at gaming. Suck it up, it's the harsh truth." She lets out a cocky giggle, waiting for my reaction, only to get a blank face staring forward at the sun slowly making its way down the sky. We had spent a solid seven hours going back and forth, challenging each other to face off in multiple games.

"I just hope that dinner isn't gonna be an overpriced meal that doesn't even taste good."

"Oh, I will make sure that you'll be pleased with the service there." She grins, but suddenly falls silent. Noticing the silence, I stare at Noire, whose cheeks had suddenly reddened ever so slightly.

"Something on your mind?" I point out my observations and she just continues walking, ignoring my stare.

"N-no…" It was an obvious lie. She began to fiddle with her thumb and suddenly changed the way she walked.

"Just tell me already, I'm still gonna pester you if you don't tell me." I begin to poke at her shoulder, making her flinch in surprise.

"Ugh, you're such a meanie, Hiroshi! I hate you because of that!" She huffs, crossing her arms over her chest with a pout.

"Nevermind." I let out a defeated sigh, slipping my hands into my pocket, ending our conversation on the way to the restaurant.

 **...**

"A table for two, please." I request a table for the two of us. Walking over to Noire, I take a seat on a bench in the waiting area. She slowly scoots away from me, still not even glancing at me as she has her arms crossed over her chest. _She's just like a little child who doesn't get what she wanted. It's cute but annoying at the same time._ I sigh and pull out my phone to check the time. 19:37. It reads. _This is the perfect time for dinner, and I'm even starting to get hungry._ Suddenly, as if Noire was responding to my thought, I hear a small moan escape her stomach, making the poor girl cover her belly with a bright, red face.

"Somebody's excited to eat here." I chuckle a little bit, making Noire turn her head away from me.

"Sh-shut up." Is all she says before a waitress calls us over to our table.

As we make our way to the table, the waitress leans over and whispers into my ear. "Hey, is that your girlfriend?"

"N-no." I respond. "We're just friends is all. I lost a bet so she decided to take me here as her reward for beating me." I blatantly explain the situation, getting a comprehensive nod out of the waitress.

"Well then why is she so down about it?"

"Who knows? I've been trying to cheer her up this whole time." I glance back at Noire, who was staring at me, making her blush and avert her gaze.

"She's just probably hungry is all. Happens to me all the time." She then places two menus onto our table, bowing before leaving to allow us to choose our meals.

Glancing at Noire, who busies herself with the menu, I decide to check out the menu as well. _I wonder what Noire is going to get. Since this is an Italian-based restaurant, the Ciceri e Tria sounds pretty good._ I set down the menu and notice that Noire had begun to set up her utensils and napkin. Following in pursuit, I place my napkin on my lap, just as the waitress had arrived at the table, noticing that the two of us had placed our closed menus onto the table.

Placing our orders, I let Noire order first.

"I would like the Ciceri e Tria." _That's the same thing I'm getting!_

"I-I would like to order the same thing, please." I awkwardly repeat Noire's order, getting a suspicious glare out of Noire. As for drinks, we both order a cup of hot water.

As the waitress heads back to the kitchen to have the chefs prepare our meals, Noire lets out a sigh.

"What's up with you getting the Ciceri e Tria?" She seemed surprised as she begins to fiddle with her fork.

"I was about to ask you the same question. This is what I normally get if I ever go to an italian restaurant. I enjoy the Arabian flavour it produces." I respond, getting a nod out of Noire.

"Same here. Simple, yet satisfying. The chili pepper flakes is the component that delivers the final punch, in my opinion." She smiles and adjusts her skirt, giving her say on the dish. Watching as Noire busies herself on her clothing, a sudden thought comes into mind.

"Hey, Noire?" I speak up, catching her attention.

"What is it, Hiroshi?" She acknowledges my presence with a look.

"I haven't heard your story yet. I've only read about where you've come from, Gamindustri, but I don't know much other than that." I explain.

"Why should I tell you?" She huffs, making me sigh.

"Well, why not? It wouldn't make sense not to tell since you've already heard my side of the story before I met you." _I've hardly told her anything, really._ I think to myself.

"F-fine! If that's _really_ what you want, then that's what you'll get." She lets out a dramatic sigh.

"You make it sound so boring and unenthusiastic. I'm sure it's something much more than that."

"Wh-whatever!" She then clears her throat. "As you have read from the letter, I am the CPU of Lastation, one of four nations. Planeptune, the Land of Purple Progress, Lastation, the Land of Black Regality, Leanbox, the Land of Green Pastures, and Lowee, the Land of White Serenity. Overtime, we all became close friends, so we had cooperated as friends to end this great war called the Console War. In doing so, we had let our guard down and the group, the Seven Sages, took advantage of our friendship with one another.

"At first, we were able to hold off the group of evildoers, but as time grew on, they were getting stronger and stronger, while we made minimal advancements as far as weaponry and strategy. As an emergency, I had requested for my sister and I to have a potion made. I will not go as far as _why_ there are potions are in our dimension, but I sincerely regret my decision of not creating potions for my other comrades. Unfortunately, the reason why I am here with you right now is because of the latest battle between us and the Seven Sages, which, obviously, we had lost the battle." She then casts a downwards look, one full of regret.

"I just hope that Un-" She stops herself from continuing as she notices our waitress coming by with the food in hand. Noticing her flash a quick look of disgust, quickly hiding it with a smile, the woman sets our meals in front of us.

"Enjoy your meal!" She smiles and heads off to take orders from another table.

Taking a bit into our meals, we both let out a moan of pleasure.

"I _told_ you that you would be happy with the restaurant that I chose!" She smirks as I politely scarf down my meal, nodding as I take in a bite.

"Well, you can't pass up a good bowl of Ciceri e Tria, can you?" I grin, looking up at Noire, who then smirks before bursting out laughing.

"Wh-what is it!?" I immediately react by blushing, only making Noire laugh even harder.

"Y-you look ridiculous with all of that food on your face! Learn some manners, will you?" She lets out a sigh, another giggle escaping her mouth as she picks up her napkin and raises it to my lips, wiping the food off of my face.

"Sh-shut up! I could've taken care of it myself!" I shoot her a glare, feeling my face as it seems like it's about to explode due to my embarrassment.

"You looked like a little baby, Hiroshi! I should've taken a picture of you and used it as blackmail!" _What a sly, little devil that Noire is._ I sigh and pick up my utensil, beginning to eat the meal with more care. Catching a glance at Noire, I notice how neatly she had been eating her Ciceri e Tria.

Taking small proportions at a time, she carefully collects a few noodles at a time, as well as a few chickpeas before gracefully putting them into her mouth. S _o this is where she shows her "royalty" side of her. I guess she's truly a princess at heart._ I go back to eating my meal, realizing that I had a few bites left before I was finished. Wishing that I had spent more time eating the Ciceri e Tria, I finish the last few bites of my meal and set the utensils onto the side, the waitress immediately coming over and taking my plate and utensils. Getting the look that said, "You're already finished?" from Noire, she continues to eat her meal.

"I am _stuffed!_ " Noire lets out a relieved sigh, stretching her arms above her head and letting out a small noise as she stretches. I smile and put my hands in my pockets as we cross the street.

"Paying for that meal wasn't all that bad. Plus the food there was absolutely _amazing!"_ I say, getting a giggle out of Noire.

"I told you it wouldn't be all that bad!" She looks up at me with a small grin. _She can be cute if she really tries. O-Only when she tries though!_ I avert my gaze, feeling my cheeks heat up.

"Shut up. I still can't get over the fact that I lost to you." I complain, getting a groan out of Noire.

"Don't even get that subject started again." She immediately shuts it down and I sigh.

Switching the topic to something more appropriate, I listen to Noire's request. "Since when did you even have the time to research that restaurant?"

"When you first took me out onto the trip to buy clothes and to the Orchid," She blatantly explains hopping on each of the white, pedestrian lines as we cross the road.

"Wow, you seriously took the time to notice that restaurant of all things?" She nods.

"Well, lets just say that I have my own ways of being so intelligent." She pokes her head with a mocking finger, making me shoot a glare at her.

"Oh whatever, Ms. Narcissist." I retort, getting a huff.

"Sh-shut up! I am _not_ a narcissist, _nor_ am I a tsundere!" She pouts, trying to change my impression of herself.

"Like that'll change anything." I grin, abruptly switching from a walk to a sprint as Noire suddenly lunges at me to tackle me.

"Oh, no you won't be getting away from me _this_ time!" She growls, chasing me down the street and on the way back to the house.

* * *

 **~Author's Note!~**

 **Hey, everyone! So... Neptune made a surprise appearance in the story, eh? *Foreshadowing inc* A-Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and stay tuned for more Noire x Hiroshi ;3**


	6. Chapter 6

**•[•]•[•] Hiroshi [•]•[•]•**

"Hey, Hiroshi?" A head peeks through the crack of the doorway, catching my attention.

"What's up?" I set down the book that I was reading on my lap, looking at Noire who holds up a magazine in front of my face.

"I found this ad for a resort. It's for two people to spend a couple of nights there." _How much time has passed since I first met Noire?_ I look at the calendar, which hung up on the wall. June 30, 2018. Summer break started back in late May, May 26th to be exact, and I had met Noire on the very day that it had started. _Man, another two weeks have passed, huh?_

"Tell me more about it." I say, staring at the cover of the magazine, which read, "Body, Fashion and Clothing products".

"'Imayoshi Hot Springs Resort. Choose another person to come with you on a memory-making journey! You can spend 1-6 nights here, all rooms are of the same price at 23033¥ a night!' Are you happy?" She reads straight off of the pamphlet, her voice filled with sarcasm.

"I'm fine with that. It isn't pricy compared to other hotels, so it's worth a shot. Plus, I haven't been to a resort in a long time. It's up to you to decide how many nights we'll be staying there." I respond, beginning to pick up my book again.

"We could stay there for at most two nights. I don't wanna hurt your allowance more than I already have." She lets out a guilty chuckle, making me sigh. _Over the past month, she's made me spend a whopping 1,000,000 on just her, making me work my butt off in order to regain the money spent._

"Sure. Two nights sounds good to me. As long as it's worth it. If it's not all that great, only one night and we're outta there." She nods in agreement and backs out of the doorway, her footsteps sounding through the door as she makes her way down the stairs.

Getting out of the bed, I set the book onto my desk and begin to make my way out of the room, finding Noire standing in the hallway by the stairway, leaning against the wall.

"Do you still have something you wanna say? Or are you just enjoying the feeling of leaning against the wall?" I stop and close the door, getting a glare out of the girl.

"When do you wanna leave for the resort?" She pushes herself off of the wall and places the tickets onto the top of the stair railing, walking down the stairs without waiting for a response.

Walking over to the tickets, I reread the information displayed the slip of paper. _Tomorrow would probably be our best option. Sooner or later I'm gonna forget about this deal, so we might as well just take advantage of this offer._ I take the tickets with me and I head down the stairs to find Noire gaming on a FPS.

"Noire, we can go tomorrow if you'd like. If you don't wanna go tomorrow then you're deciding what day we're gonna head out. It would be illogical to go today because we still have to pack for the trip." I step into the room, watching Noire as she successfully completes a mission with a perfect score.

"I guess we can go there tomorrow." She sets the controller down at looks at me with her bright red eyes. "Apparently the resort is in the neighboring city, so we can take a train there."

"That sounds quite like an NPC speaking a dialogue before the main character embarks on another quest." I say bluntly, getting a sigh out of Noire.

"Well, it's the truth of the matter." She shrugs and gets up, beginning to make her way out of the room. "I'll be upstairs packing if you wanna join me." She then exits the room, the aroma of strawberry wafting through the air.

* * *

 **•[•]•[•] Noire [•]•[•]•**

"So you decided to join me, huh?" An hour had passed before Hiroshi had made an appearance, standing in the doorway with his hand resting on the side of the doorframe as he glances between me and my luggages.

"Yeah, I got bored of playing games by myself so I decided to join you since we were headed out anyway." He shrugs and makes his way over to me, noticing that I have already packed my bag halfway full. "How much clothing are you planning on bringing anyway?" He pulls out his luggage, opening his drawer and begins putting clothing into his luggage.

"Depends on what we're going out to do." I shrug, counting the scenarios that could possibly occur in my head.

"I don't wanna hear the list, seeing how full the luggage is already."

"Wh-Whatever! It isn't that long!" I huff, quickly stuffing in another two outfits into a second luggage.

"Whatever you say, Noire," Hiroshi says, packing in a pair of swimming trunks into his luggage.

"What's with the swimming trunks?" I say, watching him place the swimming trunks neatly into his luggage.

"There's gotta be at least a swimming pool, correct? I'm creating a list to prepare me for all of the events that might occur." He says the last sentence with a hint of mockery as he packs another pair of socks into his luggage.

"St-Stop imitating me! I'm not that easy to tease!" I growl at Hiroshi, subtly slipping a pair of swimwear and placing it into my luggage.

"I beg to differ." Hiroshi grins and I give him a good punch in the arm, making him let out a groan.

"You're really mean. You know that, right?" I complain, zipping up my luggage and leaning it against the wall, next to my first luggage as I hear Hiroshi zipping his luggage up.

"Okay, I'm sorry! I'll do my best to minimize the amount that I annoy you in a day." I let out an exaggerated, loud sigh and walk out of the room, hearing Hiroshi peek his head around the doorway and call out to me.

"Hey, we're having dinner in an hour, so make sure you don't eat anything." He reminds me of a parent who constantly bugs their child.

"Thanks, Dad." I retort, making my way back into the gaming room, grabbing a controller and turning on the Plaestation.

* * *

 **•[•]•[•] Hiroshi [•]•[•]•**

Waking up to the blaringly, annoying sound of my alarm clock, I hear Noire let out an annoyed groan as she smacks the alarm clock off.

"Why did we have to wake up this early!? Give me at least a couple more hours…" The girl lets out a discomforted groan and lets her arm fall limp back into the bed, burying herself in the blanket.

Noire was the one who had discussed with me yesterday that if we were to wake up at 6:00 to leave for the train station, we would get there in time before the train would have arrived to pick us up at 7:00.

"Hey, at least you've been sleeping better than me! I've been sleeping on the floor for the past month thanks to you!" Getting up, I begin to poke at the lump beneath the covers, getting annoyed growls out of Noire as she flinches underneath the blanket with each poke. After another few short pokes, Noire reveals herself, looking up at me with quite the unappreciative glare.

"Idiot…" She huffs and slips out of the bed, walking out of the room to get ready for the day. Letting out a sigh, I begin to double check the room, making sure that we had everything packed for the trip. _She reminds me of a little sister, or a child, who is too stubborn to want to do anything._ I think to myself, hearing Noire let out a yelp which was followed by a crash.

 **...**

Leaving the house at 6:30 with a quick slice of toast and strawberry jam hand, we managed to arrive at the station thirty minutes before the train would have come to pick us, passengers, up.

Boarding the train, we had managed to find a seat on the row of benches, finding the train surprisingly empty. Looking over at Noire, she looks as if she were about to fall asleep, for she was nodding off and her hands were placed on top of one another on her lap.

 _How long has it been since someone was able to convince me to go on a trip to a resort of all places? I wasn't the type to easily be swayed, nor was I the type to go out travelling. Being more of an "indoors" type of guy, I never really spent too much time outside, only if it were to go to work, to shop, or to go to school. Again, why is it that Noire is the one who is able to change who I am?_ I ponder on the thought when I feel something lean against my shoulder. Looking over to my right, I see Noire fast asleep on my shoulder. Even back in middle school, nobody was able to convince me to do hardly anything beyond what I had my mind set to do. I let out a sigh, I gaze at the scenery out of the window, noticing that the sun had begun to rise, giving off a hazy glow in the clouds.

 **...**

"Wake up, Noire. We're here." I give Noire a good pat on the shoulder, making her let out a small noise of annoyance as she slowly opens her eyes, only to shut her eyes and cover them with her hands, realizing that it was bright outside. As I get up, she follows in pursuit, not making a sound as the two of us grab our luggages and stroll them outside of the train, just as it was about to leave.

"I suggest you open your eyes, Noire," I say, turning to look down at Noire as she opens her eyes, suddenly widening them and letting out a gasp.

"Wow…" She mumbles to herself, gazing at the scenery around her. I take a look at the scenery myself, taking note of the landscape of Imayoshi.

There were plenty of buildings scattered in clumps around the city, most of them being maybe 100-500 meters apart from one another. The only thing that kept them in separate clumps were either roads, parks, or unused land scattered around the city. As I panned my view over to the right, I realized that there was a large body of water in the middle of the city, and there was a river that lead towards a towering building, the top of it replicating the design of a pagoda. Turning to Noire, she looks back at me with a big smile. I couldn't help but smile back as she begins to pull her luggages towards the entrance of Imayoshi.

"I'm really happy that you were the one who is able to come to such a beautiful place like this, Hiroshi." I catch a few words from Noire as she mumbles something under her breath. "B-but it's not like you're special or anything! It's just that I wanted to see what Imayoshi was like!" I let out a sigh as we make our ways down the ramp, which lead to the streets of the city. _What a typical tsundere. Saying important things, but then leading up with an unnecessary coverup._

"Let's go, you tsundere." I hasten my pace, making Noire let out a pout as I hear the sound of the wheels of the luggages get louder as she picks up her pace to keep up with me.

 **...**

Finding ourselves deep within the city, I pull out my phone, checking the time, as well as our directions to go in order to get to the resort. Noticing that Noire was peeking over my shoulder, I tilt the phone so that she could get a clear view of it as well as we made our way down the streets.

"It doesn't seem like we're very far from the resort, at least from what I see from the map. As far as timing, we're gonna get there in a good time - possibly 1:37PM if you'd like me to be that specific." I nod and turn off my phone, memorizing the directions of where the resort is.

As we weave in and out of streets, under bridges, and through shopping districts, I notice that Noire had been taking notes on her phone that I had given her earlier, before the trip. Taking a quick peek as for what the notes were, they were names of all sorts of stores that we had passed, whether it be the name of a clothing store, souvenir shop for us, tourists, restaurants, you name it. Catching an Italian name, I notice that it was the name of a restaurant. _I guess she really looks forward to eating Italian food, especially if she expects it to be of high quality food._ I silently chuckle to myself, catching a sideways glance from Noire as she noticed my awkward gesture.

"If you're wondering, I'm making a list for everything that could possibly be a spot that we could venture. If you have any suggestions, I'd be happy to jot them down for you." She turns to look at me directly in the eyes, making me glance away.

"I'll keep that in mind." Out of the corner of my eye, I spot a sketchy store with a rundown appearance. "Hey, write that one down. It looks like a great restaurant." Noire lets out a groan and shoves her phone in her pocket with a glare of annoyance.

"Why do I even bother giving you assistance?" She walks faster than me, disappearing into the crowd.

Letting out a sigh, I hasten the speed of my walk as I hurry to catch up with Noire. _Tsunderes are quite the interesting species._

* * *

 **~Author's Note!~**

 **Hey, everyone! How was that chapter? Is it better or worse than the correlating chapter from the original _Guardian of Lastation_? If you've noticed, maybe not because of the huge gap between the updates of each chapter, there have been a few repeating lines that you might recognize c: Aaaanyway! I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and have an _amazing_ day!**


	7. Chapter 7

**•[•]•[•] Noire [•]•[•]•**

Making my way into the crowd, I disappear from Hiroshi's vision and brush past the people walking towards and away from me down the busy street. Hurriedly gaining distance between me and Hiroshi, I quickly weave in and out of streets, alleyways, and buildings. _Why does that idiot tease me so much? Am I that easy to tease? What is it that makes him think that he can just do that to me?_ I furrow my brow in frustration as I find myself inside of a mall.

Wandering around the mall to amuse myself by doing a little bit of window shopping, I quickly came to realize that I was lost.

 _Me and my stupid stubbornness, avoiding Hiroshi like that. I should've known better! I'm the Goddess of a nation, and I act like a child who wants to get away from her parents? What is this, a mockery!? I am not fit for being the true Goddess of Gamindustri if I were to act like this!_ Clenching my fist, I bite my lip and quickly pull out my phone, punching in Hiroshi's number and pressing "Call".

Waiting for his response as each beep sounds through my ear, I receive the recorded voice of disappointment as the woman asks me to leave a message for him. Calling him a few more times, unfortunately not getting a reply, I groan and shove the phone in my pocket, tapping my foot on the floor in frustration.

 _What to do at a time like this? I could look for him, but that might end up making me even more lost than before. He's probably gonna think that I'm headed to the resort so I should be headed there._ Giving myself confidence with a small nod of the head, I begin to make my way to the resort, heading in the direction of the towering building that displayed the words, "Imayoshi Hot Springs Resort".

As I make my way down the streets, crossing roads and cutting through alleyways, I start to pick up my pace. I felt some sort of tension as I was making my way through each street. It was as if someone was watching me. But from where? I abruptly stop and focus my energy on my senses, attempting to catch someone's presence or stare.

 _I can feel it. I just don't know where they are._ I begin to make my way down the street I was currently on, but something suddenly wrapped around my waist and dragged me into one of the sideways alleyways.

"What th-" I begin to exclaim, but a hand covered up my mouth and began to pinch my nose, making it impossible for me to let in any air. _Dammit, this guy is good!_ Attempting to turn my head and look at the person pinning me in their grip, I turn to find someone with a dark hood on, making it impossible to see who was attempting to kidnap me. What made it even more impossible to tell who it was, was the fact that we were in an alleyway, where there was an abundance of shade.

 _Shit! I'm losing the oxygen! I need to think fast._ Quickly glancing around at the scene before me, I kick my leg back, hooking my foot around the backside of their joint, pulling their leg forward and bending it. Thankfully, it gave me the opening, for the person had loosened their grip on my body, allowing me to strip their hands off of my body and throw it behind me, quickly delivering a kick down onto their torso, making them let out a gag. Hurriedly grabbing my belongings, I dash out of the alleyway and back into the street.

 _What the hell was that?_ I think to myself as I maneuver through the busy crowds of tourists and residents, attempting to get away from the person that had attacked me. _It wasn't a monster, but it definitely was something abnormal._ I furrow my brow, glancing up at the resort, realizing that I was about at the resort. _Since I'm about at the resort, I should spend my time looking for Hiroshi._ A hand suddenly grabs onto my wrist, making me jerk my hand towards my body and turn to face who had grabbed onto me.

"What the hell, Noire!?" My eyes widen as I turn to find myself facing Hiroshi staring back at me with quite the unpleasant look on his face. "Why did you run away like that!? Do you know how much trouble you could've gotten in? You could've gotten hurt for crying out loud!" His expression turns from frustration to worry.

"I-I'm sorry, Hiroshi. I didn't mean to run off like that." I mumble, my pride and reputation as a nation's CPU crumbling with each of Hiroshi's words.

"What do you mean, 'Sorry'? I mean, sure, that's all you can say, but don't do that ever again, okay?" He then drops his hand from my wrist, turning his head with a downcast look of regret. With a small nod of my head, Hiroshi turns and pulls his luggage behind him as we make our way to the entrance of the resort, which had been towering over the two of us as we had started the commotion.

* * *

 **•[•]•[•] Hiroshi [•]•[•]•**

 _Why, why, why, why, why?_ I think to myself as I hurriedly make my way through the sliding glass doors, hearing the rolling of Noire's luggages behind me. _Why did I have to be such a jerk like that? Sure, I was worried because I had lost track of her, but there was no important reason for me to yell at her like I had done just a few minutes ago._ I clench my fist around my luggage as I arrive at the front desk.

"Hello." a woman greets me at the desk, a gentle smile on her face as she looks at me. "Have you made a reservation for your stay here at the Imayoshi Hot Springs Resort?"

"We have two tickets and are here to redeem the tickets before they expire," I say, holding up two tickets, which held the validation for the two of us to stay at the resort.

"Great! Let me see those tickets and I will be right with you as soon as I get these validated." Handing the tickets to the woman, she takes them with a smile and begins to scan and type a code onto the computer.

Turning back to Noire, I find her staring at me, but then realizing that I was staring back, she averted her gaze. Walking over to Noire, she awkwardly shifts away from me, one hand on her arm as she uses her other hand to grip a luggage by her side. Letting out a sigh, I then put my hands into my pockets and look at Noire.

"Look," I say, actually getting the girl to look up at me with an expectant look on her face. "I'm sorry. I know that I said some hurtful things to you, and I know we both made some bad decisions, but I just wanna remind the both of us that we're supposed to be having fun at this place, not to be arguing with each other like this."

Noire then puts her hands on her hips and glares at me. "Says the one who yelled at me in the first place. Learn some tact, will you? You had people staring at you like you were my dad for crying out loud!"

She huffs and rolls her luggages up to the front desk, where the woman looked as if she was about to finish with the tickets. Walking up to the front desk as well, the woman turns to me and holds up a part of the tickets and what looked two grey creditcards, in which I take from her with a "thank you". With a customary farewell, she gives us a smile, signaling us for our department to the hotel room.

Entering the elevator, I press the designated number that had been assigned to our rooms, closing the door in front of us as the machine begins to take us to our destination. Noire migrates to the far corner, opposite of me, while I, on the other hand, lean against the wall.

"Hiroshi." She mumbles my name, in which I look up at Noire, who casts a sideways glance at me, her arms crossed over her chest.

"What is it?" I respond.

"Thanks." Is all she says before turning her head back to the wall, where she stared at the luxurious metal wall that enclosed us in the elevator.

"What for? All I did was bring you here, only to yell at you before we even got to the resort itself."

"Nothing like that; I'm still mad at you for that. It's just… thank you for caring for me for this long. Thanks for looking out for me when I got lost, too. I was just being stupid and let my stubbornness get to me." She paused. "You didn't mean to yell at me. I know that. I knew you meant to help me, not to hurt me. So... thank you." A soft ring of the elevator's bell ended the conversation before I could respond, the doors of the machine opening before Noire grabbed her luggages and walked out of the elevator, leaving me to follow her without a response.

Sliding the card into the slot of the lock on our room, a beep and a click sounded through the door. Turning the knob on the door, I push the door open, a soft aroma of lavender wafting through the hallways. Immediately Noire had a little sparkle in her eyes as she excitedly strolled into the room, gazing around what looked like a living room.

In front of us was a living room, almost the size of mine, that held multiple couches, a dining table, a full kitchen set, and a TV. In front of us, there were sliding glass doors that opened up to a balcony, which displayed the beautiful scenery of the city of Imayoshi. On the balcony was a hot tub, as well as a full-sized grill, and a potted plant for decor. To our left was the main bedroom, or I should say _only_ bedroom, which held one queen-sized bed, a closet around the size of our closet, a TV that hung on the wall, and a bathroom the size of a small bedroom. Going through each room in awe, we manage to unpack all of our clothes while gazing at the scenery displayed before us.

A few hours had passed by the time we had fully gotten settled in the hotel room, adjusting to such a luxurious setting. We had ordered lunch from the restaurant on the first floor, enjoying the authentic taste of the resort's Japanese cuisine. During the exploration of the Imayoshi Hot Springs Resort, we had ended up finding the actual hot springs of the resort. In our finding of the hot springs, we managed to rush back into our room to get our bathing materials prepared.

"Do you think we should wear our swimsuits?" was the first question that came out of Noire's mouth as we were gathering our clothes.

"Bring it just in case. You never know what to expect there," I reply, getting a nod out of Noire. Gathering a few more items from the drawers, I make my way to the entryway, slipping on my sandals, looking back at the bedroom, in which Noire had been busying herself with her own items.

"I'm ready whenever you are," I call out to Noire, getting a small nod out of her as she then lifts up a small pile of items in her arms as she begins to make her way to the entryway.

"On your lead, Hiroshi." She gives me a smile and I open the door, signaling for the two of us to head to the elevator.

On the way down to the first floor, Noire turns to me with a happy look, saying, "You know, I'm really happy that we were able to come here."

"I do know that, and I actually agree with you for once. It's a new experience getting out of the house and travelling to different places like this," I say, returning with a smile.

"It's a 'new experience'? Why wouldn't it be new?"

"Many reasons, one of them being that I had nobody to go with, and another, I'm not a very big fan of travelling often," I blatantly explain with a shrug of my shoulders.

"I can see your point." The elevator dings, opening the doors to multiple people waiting in front of the elevator to go to their rooms.

Making our way to the hot springs of Imayoshi, we find ourselves confronted with two options. In front of us was a desk, behind it being a woman similar to the one at the entrance, and behind her were three different hallways each with different above the hallway. As we walk towards the front desk, the woman greets us with a polite smile.

"So are you here for the hot springs as a couple or just as friends?" She looks between the two of us as she asks the question.

"We're just friends who decided to make the trip down here to Imayoshi for a couple of nights." I said, clearing up the assumption of us being a couple. _Again._ Meanwhile, I look over at Noire, who attempts to bury her face in her small pile of clothing, trying to hide her deepening blush.

"Ahh, I see." Is all she says before holding up a hand to the sign to our right. "Well, you have three options. One is to be separate and go into a public male and female bath, another is to be separate from each other in your own, private baths, and the third option is for you two to bathe together in one private bath house." Hearing the last option made Noire hug her clothing to herself even more, letting out a small "Eep!" as she did so.

Looking at her from a sideways glance, I smile a little bit and decide to be a little mischievous. "Noire, what would you like to do? I don't have a preference over one choice or another." As soon as I finished my comment, I immediately regretted what came out of my mouth. _Do I want to get myself killed by bringing up the option of bathing with a girl, and even moreso, bathing with Noire of all people!?_ I get a startled look out of Noire, which quickly changed to a glare.

"I-I dunno. I'll just leave it up to her." She nods towards the woman behind the desk, who just giggles.

"Well, as a couple coming here together, I would assume you would've thought of the option of bathing together, right?" She doesn't wait for an answer from either of us and continues. "I would suggest that the two of you could bathe together. It would be a _wonderful_ experience to enjoy while being here at the Imayoshi Hot Springs Resort, wouldn't it?"

"Well, I guess there's no going back now." I say blatantly, but on the inside I feel slightly nervous as for what could happen to the both of us.

"A-Are you sure, Hiroshi?" Noire looks up at me with uncertain eyes, her bright red eyes staring into mine.

"D-don't make this sound like some sort of special proposal, Noire! It's just a bath for heaven's sake!" I refute, my cheeks beginning to burn as I start to imagine the scenarios that could possibly happen. _Distract yourself from those thoughts, Hiroshi!_ _Just turn your back to her once you get into the bath, and don't stare!_ I give myself a confident nod as I feel myself regain my healthy status.

"Then I guess it's settled, is it not?" She claps her hands together with a smile and hands me a key. "Room 357 to your right, down the hallway to your left. Enjoy your stay!" Thanking her, the two of us make our way to our destination.

* * *

 **~Author's Note!~**

 **Hey, everyone! I wonder what that sudden attack on Noire was for O.o**

 **Anyone else have an idea of what that might've been about? *Cough* foreshadow *Cough***

 **Anyway, hot springs! Yes. Fanservice! I think that's probably what half of us were probably looking forward to, right?**

 **Also, you might've noticed by reading the synopsis of the story, that it is confirmed that there _will_ be a second part...and possibly a third part to this story so look forward to that!**

 **I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and look forward to the new chapter next week!**


	8. Chapter 8

**•[•]•[•] Noire [•]•[•]•**

 _What have I just done!?_ I think to myself as the two of us head down the hallway and to the private room. In my head, I'm smashing my head into a wall over and over again. _Of all things, I just_ had _to be uncomfortable and choose to bathe with the opposite sex, especially Hiroshi of all people!_ I feel my face burn hotter than the sun as thoughts of pleasantly, unpleasant thoughts bounce in and out of my head, forcing myself to hit my face a couple of times to push them out of my head, getting an awkward glance from Hiroshi. _I should've just went with my guts and asked to have private rooms… but then it would be lonely without Hiroshi… but why Hiroshi? I'm strong enough to take care of myself-I'm the CPU for the Goddess' sake! Why is Hiroshi the one to make me feel vulnerable and clingy? Why was_ I _the one to be thrown into a different dimension? Neptune is usually the one to go to different dimensions! I mean, she's already gone to what, three different dimensions already?_ Suddenly, I feel a hand grab onto my shoulder, making me snap back to reality.

"The room is here, Ms. Daydreamer. What were you mumbling about anyway?" I turn to find Hiroshi looking at me with a blank stare.

"N-Nothing that you would be interested in!" I stammer, brushing his hand off of my shoulder as I hurriedly rush into the room. Hearing Hiroshi follow me into the private room, I place all of my items on a bench as he closes the door behind us.

"I wonder what it's going to be like beyond those sliding doors." Hiroshi motions towards the two glass doors in front of us, each had been clouded up by what looked like steam.

"Obviously it's going to be like a refreshing bath like we've never had before! It's not like we _haven't_ had an amazingly relaxing bath before, so I have high expectations for this one." I huff, my eyes catching a changing room as I give my opinion about the hot springs.

"Well, I'm sure you'll be pleased. And you'd better go get changed before you hop into the bath or else you wouldn't be happy with the state your clothes would be in after you took a nice bath." I roll my eyes, grabbing my towels and walking into the changing room, closing the door behind me and locking the door.

As I begin to undress, I find myself staring at my reflection in the mirror. _Since when did I become so self-conscious about what I looked like as far as my physical appearance?_ I think to myself as I then strike different poses in the mirror, admiring my body as I do so. _Is being with a man_ this _influential? Just because I haven't had much exposure to men doesn't mean that they're any different than us, right? But I guess we still have to have our limitations as far as our manners and privacy go._ I then begin to wrap a larger towel around my waist, tying a knot around my hip while I continue to observe my body in the mirror.

"Noire, are you finished changing?" A voice calls out to me from the other side of the door.

"I-I just need to tie my hair up and I'm set. Give me a couple more minutes." I respond, quickly undoing the ties of the ribbons, watching as my raven-black hair flows down, past my shoulders and just below my waist. Not wanting to waste my time, I hurriedly tie my hair up into a messy bun as I push open the door with my feet, revealing a sight that might've had the chance to make me pass out from embarrassment.

In front of me was Hiroshi, stretching his triceps, in a towel that only covered the necessary part to be covered up, everything else being revealed to me: a full-on six pack and nicely toned muscles that emphasizing the structure of his stomach.

While I had been examining Hiroshi's naked body, His face had turned pure red to the point where he began to pinch his nose. Quickly realizing that the two of us had been staring at each other, we immediately look away from the other, our faces burning red with embarrassment.

"M-Maybe we shouldn't've taken the choice of bathing together in a private room," Hiroshi speaks up, not looking at me once as he speaks.

"I-I definitely agree with you. B-But it's too late I guess…" I mumble, turning and pressing one arm against my chest.

"Shall we just get into the bath?" He clears his throat and pushes open the doors, which immediately filled the room with warmth, and the fresh aroma of a hot spring.

"That would be most helpful, due to our current situation." I nod in agreement and step into the bath house, letting out a refreshed sigh. "Bathhouses cease to amaze me when it comes to the relaxation that replaces any stress or frustration within me."

"We aren't even in the bath itself and it feels amazing just standing in the humid air. I can only imagine what we could possibly experience _inside_ of the bath itself." Hiroshi takes a step forward towards the bath, the size of a small bedroom, but doesn't step in.

Tilting my head in confusion, he turns to me with a smile. "Ladies first?"

Gladly taking his offer, I step into the hot bath and slowly sit down in the middle of the bath, letting out a moan of pleasure. He then follows me into the bath, sitting behind me so that our backs are touching ever so slightly.

"I know that I am repeating this, but thanks for giving me the opportunity to spend this time with you, Hiroshi." I say, turning my head slightly towards him, receiving a shake of his head.

"No, _I'm_ the one who should be thanking _you_ for the opportunity to even get me out of the city, out of my comfort zone to even come here." He lets out a small chuckle.

"Wh-Why would you need to be thanking me for something like that? I'm merely just doing this for my own pleasure." I huff, getting a sigh out of Hiroshi.

"Well, if you're doing it for your pleasure, then allow me to say that I'm doing it out of honor to accompany you as your _Guardian_." He grins and I sigh.

"You don't have to take my letter _that_ seriously!" I huff, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Well, you _were_ the one to write the letter in the first place, right?"

"Don't use that against me!" I begin to pout, getting a laugh out of Hiroshi.

"Okay, okay! I'm only stopping because we're in a bath house, alright?" I let out a sigh and lean my body and head against his back, feeling the roughness of his back press up against my soft and smooth skin, allowing me to finally relax after the emotional chaos between the two of us from before.

* * *

 **•[•]•[•] Hiroshi [•]•[•]•**

"Man, that was refreshing!" I let out a sigh of relief as I slide the hot springs door behind us.

"Well, of course it would be! I would honestly be disappointed if it were anything below my expectations of a hotel clearly advertising that they are all about their hot springs!" Noire just huffs and hugs her towel to her chest.

"Whatever! You don't _always_ have to be all high-and-mighty!" I give Noire a glance, who just puffs out her cheeks in response.

"Sh-shut up! It's not like I enjoyed the our trip to the hot springs or anything! I-I only went there because we had the opportunity to do so!" Another tsundere line escapes her lips, making me smile. _She ceases to amaze me with how stubborn she is about admitting things to me._

"Whatever you say, you tsundere." I say, placing the key onto the front desk before looking back at Noire, who just glares at me with her bright red eyes.

"I am _not_ a tsundere!" Noire then stomps off past the doorway, entering the hotel lobby.

"Tsunderes are quite the interesting species." I sigh to myself before picking up my pace to catch up with Noire before she left me downstairs.

 **...**

"Y-You almost locked the door on me! At least be nice enough to let me in when you know that I'm _right behind_ you!" I angrily vent to Noire, who just turns her head with a huff and makes her way to the bedroom, closing the door behind her. Glancing at the clock, I realize how late it had become. Being already 17:14, I realize how much time had passed since we had first come here to the Imayoshi Hot Springs Resort.

 _Has the day gone by_ this _fast!?_ _It's already almost time for dinner, and I bet Noire is knocked out cold because of the bath._ _Taking a bath sure does take a lot of energy out of you._ I walk over to the bedroom, opening the door to find Noire peacefully sleeping in the bed, using all of the bed sheets to cover her small body. Hearing a small buzz come from the nightstand, I quickly make my way over to the phone, checking to see who had left a notification.

 **" _This is the first step of reclaiming our territory of Gamindustri."_ -Unknown Sender.**

 _What's this all about? I know that Gamindustri had been taken over by the Seven Sages, but what is "it"?_ I slowly crawl onto the bed and sure enough, I find a strange silhouette in Noire's left breast pocket. _I don't wanna risk being assaulted by Noire after she wakes up to me attempting to grope her, so I can tell her about it later._ I lie down on my back, looking up at the ceiling which returns with a blank stare.

 _Am I really suited to be Noire's Guardian? I don't see any special talent within me, except for the fact that I'm above average in school academics, but I don't think that it would be hardly anything compared to the the things that those CPUs go through back in Gamindustri._ I hear Noire shift in her sleep and I feel a pair of hands wrap around my arm that had been lying on the bed, along with a soft mumble. _I guess with Noire being more vulnerable than I thought, I can't really imagine her being a CPU in battle. I wonder what it's like over in Gamindustri. Would it be in flames and in ruin? Or would it be a rebuilt land with one leader with it's own, sole nation?_ I ponder on the thought, glancing down at the twintail-haired girl who slowly opens her eyes, rubbing her cheek against my arm as she adjusts to the situation.

"Good morning, Sleepy Head." I say, getting a incomprehensible mumble out of the girl. "Or not."

Watching as she closes her eyes and fall back asleep, I glance at the clock, which reads, _17:42._ Resting my head against my pillow, I suddenly feel a soft sensation press up against my arm. Noire had ended up pressing her whole body against my arm, as if using it as a pillow to hug. _Why doesn't Noire just let herself free instead of forcing herself to act the way that she does?_ _She would be a lot cuter if she acted without having to constrain herself._ I let out a sigh and close my eyes, letting my thoughts flow through my mind. Feeling myself start to lose conscious, I begin to hear Noire mumble something under her breath.

 **...**

"Wake up, Hiroshi! I'm hungry!" I let out a groan and open my eyes, finding Noire standing up and looking down at me from the side of the bed.

"What time is it..?" I slowly sit up and rub my eyes, a yawn wandering out of my mouth as I do so.

"Nearly eight o'clock! How long did you sleep for anyway!" She glares at me and crosses her arms over her chest.

"Nearly two hours. I'm sure you slept longer than me though." I kick my feet off of the side of the bed, standing up and stretching.

"Wh-what do you mean!? I woke up a half an hour _before_ you!"

"And yet you went to sleep as soon as we got back from the hot springs: 17:00. So if we do the math, it seems that you have slept a total of two and a half hours. Two and a half hours being more than two hours." I mockingly count each hour on my fingers, getting a flustered glare out of the twintail-haired girl before me.

"Sh-sh-shut up! It isn't even that big of a difference!" She hurriedly makes up an excuse and begins to busy herself with an arrangement of clothes on the desk to the left side of the bed.

"Where are we headed to once we are ready?" I look at Noire, who holds up a white blouse with a smile.

"I hear that there's a festival all-week this week, so why not check it out?" She turns to the mirror and places it in front of her, striking a couple of poses before giving herself a confident nod and walking into the bathroom.

"If that's the case, then I'll go ahead and change here in the bedroom." I begin to select my clothing for the small trip. "I'm warning you about this so that you _don't_ walk out and find me changing, okay?" Not getting a response, I let out a sigh and begin to change into the outfit that I had decided on wearing.

 **...**

"Uwaaaah~!" Noire lets out an amused noise as we make our way to the destination: the festival grounds.

"Woah, there's so many booths!" I say, stopping in front of the entrance, gazing at the scenery of the festival grounds.

"Don't just stand there! Come on, let's check them out! I'm going to make sure that we're going to spend the _whole evening_ if we have to in order to see _every_ booth, okay?" Noire looks at me with a wide grin, grabbing my hand and pulling me into the crowd of people, tourists, regulars and all, viewing the stalls just like we were.

Weaving our ways through the booths, we end up finding ourselves at a shooting game. Glancing at Noire, who returns the look that says "You know what we're about to do" along with a smirk, she walks up to the owner of the booth, handing him 200¥. The man counts the cash and holds up two guns, in which Noire takes on, I take the other.

"Are you two competing for a prize, or would you like to aim for the Grand Prize?" The man motions towards the prize, which was a giant… pudding cat? Apparently Noire seemed fairly enthusiastic about wanting the pudding cat, so she turned to me and pointed towards the Grand Prize.

"We would like to go for the Grand Prize," I say, looking at the man with a smile.

"Alright! Your goal is to try and hit 100 bullseyes under five minutes in order for you to win this giant Pudding Cat plushie!" He points to two targets on either side of him, around 20 meters away from us.

"Are you ready!?" We both nod in acknowledgement, adjusting the stock of the rifle in our shoulders. "Begin!"

The two of us immediately begin to shoot, nailing each bullet we take into the bullseye, watching from of our peripheral view the time and points we had made. As we continued to unload the magazine of the rifle, we hear the crowd of people gathering around us, getting "ooh's" and "ahh's" as we hit consecutive bullseyes. Hearing the click of the magazine being empty, I begin to reach down for a full magazine when Noire tosses me one with her left hand, still keeping perfect aim with her right hand. _This girl is amazing when dealing with guns! How much time does she spend with these things!?_ I quickly slip the magazine into the rifle and begin shooting again.

"Thirty seconds!" The man announces our last burst before our time would run out. Noire suddenly begins to double her speed in her fire rate, making me widen my eyes in surprise. _Well, whatever works for us winning the Pudding Cat works!_ I grin and begin to increase my speed as well. Hearing the dings of the bullseyes continuously racking up, a blaring ring of a bell sounds from the center of the booth, cutting us off from our gunfire. Glancing up at our score, Noire bursts out laughing.

Our score had nearly quadrupled the goal for the Grand Prize at a staggering 397 bullseyes, and I'm guessing that the majority of them were scored by Noire.

Handing the guns back to the owner, he adjusts the cap on his head and nods towards Noire. "You've got a nice shot for someone your age! How'd you learn to shoot like that?"

"My sister taught me," Noire says with a polite smile. "She's an amazing markswoman and I still have yet to match her skill." The man lets out an amused chuckle, but then turns around and grabs a Pudding Cat, handing it to Noire with a grin.

"It's all yours, m'lady! Amazing performance by you and your boyfriend! Come again sometime and it out again for a better high score!" He waves us off and the two of us merge back into the crowd.

"That was surprisingly nostalgic." Noire looks up at me with a happy smile, hugging her Pudding Cat as she does so. "Except I don't accept the fact that everyone thinks that we're d-d-dating…" She mumbles the last part to herself, getting an uncomfortable chuckle out of me.

"I-I guess we just gotta accept their assumptions and do our best to correct them." I rub the back of my head.

"Well now that we've exhausted ourselves, why don't we find something to eat! I'm sure there's _plenty_ of things that we could get here." Noire looks around and begins to make her way through the crowd, myself not very far from her as we begin our search for a food stand.

 **...**

"Even though takoyaki is considered an appetizer, are you okay with eating this for dinner?" I look at Noire, who happily munches on a set of takoyaki on her lap, the pudding cat in between the two of us as we eat our meals.

"Yup! It fills me up just enough to keep me moving for the night!" She sets her now-empty platter on the bench, placing her hands on her lap.

"How are you already finished?!" I look up at Noire will a surprised look, flashing back to when we ate at that one Italian restaurant where we both ordered the Ciceri e Tria. She just responds with a shrug before picking up the Pudding Cat and hugging it to her chest.

"Who knew that breaking a window of a bath house and using someone as a landing pad could end up with me being able to win a Grand Prize with the help of a _man_." _Oh, that's right._ I think to myself as I stare down at my takoyaki. _Wasn't Noire only friends with girls before she came to Earth?_

"Sometimes life has some interesting things planned out for us. You never know what's going to happen next." I stab the toothpick into a takoyaki, holding it up.

"Precisely." Is all Noire says before I look back to find the takoyaki gone from the toothpick.

"Wh-What was that for!? That was the last one!" I set the toothpick down while Noire just giggles.

"'You never know what's going to happen next', correct?" She grins and I take both of our platters and toss them into the trash.

"You didn't have to quote me on that, you know." I let out a sigh and turn back to Noire, who busies herself with the Pudding Cat's ears.

"We should go hurry up and find a spot so that we can see the fireworks. Generally there are fireworks at a festival, correct?" Noire looks at me, receiving a nod from me.

"Yeah, we should. Follow me, I can find a spot for the two of us." I take hold of Noire's hand and gently pull her along as the two of us begin to make our way out of the festival grounds.

 **...**

Finding ourselves on top of a hill and under a tree, I sit down next to Noire on the soft grass. Staring at the view of the city of Imayoshi, the two of us fall into an awkward silence. Glancing at Noire, I watch as her lips form a small smile, glancing back at me.

"I'm really happy that I met you, Hiroshi." She averts her gaze with a soft blush, diverting her attention towards the night sky.

"I enjoy being able to get to know you as well. You've opened up a new horizon that I would've never been able to experience without you here with me." _I hope that didn't sound too weird. W-wait why am I getting worked up over something I'm saying!?_ I think to myself, a blush building up in my cheeks.

I suddenly hear Noire mumble something her breath. "What if what everyone is saying about us, becoming a couple, could actually come true..?" I look at Noire, to find her staring at her Pudding Cat, playing with the ears again.

Before I could respond to Noire's comment, a soft but sharp whistle sounded, followed by a loud explosion. A gigantic, pink heart firework erupted before us, quickly followed by a few more explosions, revealing the Japanese characters that read "Love" and "Unity".

Closing my mouth in surprise, it then turns into a smile. "The fireworks are beautiful, aren't they." Is all I say, watching the display of fireworks dance across the sky. Noire just nodded silently and watched as another set of fireworks shine in the night sky. Feeling a small tug at my sleeve, I find Noire staring back at me, her bright red eyes piercing into my blue eyes.

"Hey, Hiroshi?" A spark of anticipation leapt through my eyes as she speaks up.

"What is it, Noire?" She looked as if she were going to say something, but she then dropped her hand from my sleeve, letting it fall to the grass beneath us.

"Nevermind." She then turns back to the firework show, a small smile on her face.

* * *

 **~Author's Note!~**

 **Hey, everyone! So... how'd you enjoy the Hiroshi x Noire moments? ;3 Sorry about not putting _that_ much fanservice within that bath scene like I should've. Anyway, another foreshadowing moment occurred... *hint hint***

 **If you enjoyed the chapter, make sure you follow and fav the story so you can keep up with the story's weekly content! And if you've already followed and favorited my story, then you have my gratitude for being such an amazing fan! :D**

 **Have an _amazing_ day, and I'll see you next week with the next chapter! :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**•[•]•[•] Hiroshi [•]•[•]•**

"Hiroshi." A semi-formal tone called for my presence from outside of my room.

Another three weeks had passed uneventfully since we made the trip down to Imayoshi. Our last day there was almost like a normal day, except with a lot more exploration, as expected due to us being in a tourists' city. The night before had ended with us awkwardly attempting to start a conversation without success, ending the night on not the greatest note.

"What is it?" I call out to Noire, finding her peeking at me through the doorway.

"Can we talk about something really quick?" She motions for the two of us to step outside of the house.

Hearing the door shut behind the two of us, I look at Noire with a suspicious look.

"What is it that you'd like to talk to me about?" I slide my hands into my pocket with an expectant stare.

"Would you happen to know what this is?" She then holds up what looks like a glass power symbol.

With a shake of my head, I lean closer to get a better view of it.

The small power symbol, the size of an egg, was definitely made out of a transparent material, but the most intriguing part about it was that it seemed to have a… black glow to it.

"What is it? I've never seen anything like it. I don't think it looks like something you would normally find lying on the ground, or in a store of any kind." I express my observations to Noire, who just laughs.

"This thing right here," She then opens up her palm, allowing me to watch the small power symbol stand itself up and float above her palm. "Is a Share Crystal. Specifically for me."

The first question that had decided to make an appearance in my head was: "What does a Share Crystal do?"

It was Noire's turn to give a look of surprise. "What do you mean, 'what does a Share Crystal do?'!? It allows me to transform into my HDD form, my CPU form, Black Heart! Do you _seriously_ need me to show you!?" She glares at me and I nod, getting a defeated sigh out of the CPU.

Taking a step back, I watch as Noire closes her eyes and the Share Crystal begins to float towards her chest. Suddenly, it disappeared inside of her chest, a sudden black aura glowed around her, giving off a bit of heat. Watching as Noire then clutches her chest, the black aura suddenly disappears, and Noire calls out some sort of command.

"Hard Drive Divinity, activate!" Suddenly, a bright, white light engulfs Noire, forcing me to shield my eyes.

Opening my eyes again, I find myself face-to-face with an entirely different person than Noire. In front of me was as woman, slightly taller than Noire, but had some more… 'developed' parts of her body than Noire, dressed in a skin-tight, one piece swimsuit which had a color scheme of various shades grey, black, and white. I notice that her hair was a pure white, falling just below her waist and her bangs messily but evenly parted on her face. As she opened her eyes, her eyes almost shone with a bright blue haze, her pupils being replaced by the Share Crystal that Noire had just been holding in her palm.

"I-Is that you, Noire?" I stare at the magnificent beauty in awe, watching as she clenches her hands and does a few stretches before answering my question.

"Well of course it's me, idiot. Who else would it be?" _Wow. Even her voice changed._ Her voice was deeper, and had more of a rough texture to it as she harshly responded to me with her usual tsundere attitude. _Who knew a CPU could change so much with a transformation like that?_

"Wh-why are you staring at me!? I'm not _that_ flawless, am I?" She strikes a couple of poses, completely contradicting the intentions of her words,.

"It's just that you're a lot… different than your other form." I respond, getting a glare out of the CPU.

"What's that supposed to mean!?" She growls and takes a step towards me, making me flinch a little bit.

"You're really beautiful in that form." Noire's face burns red as she immediately backs off, covering her cheeks with her hands.

"Wh-wha-!? You don't have to compliment me like that! Learn some tact, will you!?" _The only thing she maintains in both forms is that tsundere personality of hers. She ceases to amaze me._ I smirk to myself as Noire turns back to her normal form, flipping one of her twintails.

"Just take the compliment already and quit being a tsundere!" I glare at Noire and pinch her cheeks, pulling them as she lets out a whimper, attempting to pull my hands off of her face in annoyance.

"St-stahwp it aweady!" She lets out a pout and I let go of her cheeks, watching as she immediately rubs the marks on her cheeks.

"Whatever, you Tsun." I give Noire a wave before walking into the house again, leaving her to growl at me from outside.

* * *

 **•[•]•[•] Noire [•]•[•]•**

 _That bastard, taking advantage of me like that!_ I glare at the door which Hiroshi had just stepped through and closed behind him. _A-Although he did c-compliment me… B-but that's besides the point! Now that I've gotten a share crystal, something's gotta be up with this situation._ Finishing my thought, I feel a buzz in my pocket.

Pulling out my phone, I quickly open the text and read it.

"Successfully obtained 1/4 Share Crystals. Good luck on your search for the rest of the Crystals. I gave the first one to you _just_ in case you were getting a little bit desperate on that stupid planet of yours." -Unknown. _Unknown my_ ass! I think to myself, clenching my teeth with a huff. _The real question is how I'm gonna find the other three Share Crystals. Whoever is giving me the opportunity to find the Share Crystals is giving me an opening to go back to Gamindustri. I'll do my best to do whatever it takes to get all four Crystals._

Entering the house, I am greeted by the smell of something being deep fried. Wandering into the kitchen, I find Hiroshi placing strips of battered chicken into a deep fryer. _Is it already lunch time?_ I glance at the clock. 13:01. _Did I sleep in? No, I was just busying myself with laundry and making a discovery with the Share Crystal._

"Can I help?" I glance at Hiroshi, who manages to catch my gaze as he drops another piece of chicken into the deep fryer.

"Sure." He grabs a pan from below the stove and holds it up to me. "You wanna do the rice?" Taking the pan, I nod and hear the click of the stove as I turn the knob, placing it down.

"Of course. I'll do whatever I can to help." I look up at Hiroshi with a smile, getting a smile back as he continues to work on the katsu.

 **...**

"Thanks for the food!" I smile and gather the plates, bringing them to the sink.

"Do you need any help with the dishes?"

"Yeah, you can dry the dishes and put them away for me." I then hand him a plate, in which he immediately gets started on his task. As the two of us then begin washing and drying the dishes, Hiroshi looks at me with a sideways glance.

"What is it?" I look back at Hiroshi, who puts another dish away in its designated spot.

"I was just wondering," He closes the cupboard and looks at me. "Have you studied anything for the entrance exams?" _Entrance exams, huh?_ I think to myself, handing Hiroshi another plate. _It never dawned on me that I would actually have to go to_ school _of all things. Well, at least that puts something on my plate instead of lying around and being bored or playing video games for amusement._

"No, I haven't. Just give me the subjects that I need to study and I'll do my best to learn them." I look up at Hiroshi, who nods and puts away the dish that I had handed him.

"We can make a trip to the school so that I can give you a little tour of the campus while getting the materials in order to study." He dries his hands off with a towel and sets it back on the counter, walking up to the room. "It's best if we get changed and head out now so that we can take advantage of the studying time that we have."

* * *

 **•[•]•[•] Hiroshi [•]•[•]•**

"So when are the exams supposed to take place?" I look at Noire, who stops in front of the gates at the entrance.

"Sometime next week. I'm not one hundred percent sure, but if it's going to be sometime next week, then it would be best if we get right to studying, correct?" Noire gives me a nod, allowing for the two of us to make our way into the school grounds.

"Have you ever been to a school before?" _She's the goddess of a nation, so there can't be any way that someone like her could make an appearance somewhere like a school._ I think to myself as I begin to take her through the hallways.

"No, but I've seen schools in some ani-" She cuts herself off with a blush, covering her mouth with a hand as she stares off to the side. _Was she about to say anime?_ I let out a laugh, getting an immediate smack to the back.

"Wh-what is it, you idiot!? Is it because I've never been to a high school? Is that it!?" She growls at me, making me laugh even harder.

"You should've just finished the sentence! I didn't know you were an otaku!" I swore I could've seen an arrow that read "Otaku" stab into Noire's chest just now.

"Sh-sh-shut up! I'm _not_ an otaku!" She glares at me and lets out a huff.

"Whatever you say, you tsundere." I let out a sigh and turn into a classroom, the sign reading 2-5. "This is going to be your homeroom if you end up making it past the entrance exams."

"What do the numbers mean?" She points to the sign dangling above the doorway of the classroom.

"The first number represents the grade that you'll be placed under: second year. The second number represents skill level: one being the lowest, while five being the highest." I explain, moving on to another section of the school.

"Obviously I would be placed in the highest class possible because _nobody_ is smarter than _me_." I look back at Noire, who has her hand placed cockily on her chest with a confident smile.

"As expected of you, Noire. Don't let me down, okay?" I grin and Noire just lets out a boastful smile.

After showing Noire around the school grounds, we find ourselves sitting on a bench outside, enjoying the cool, summer breeze.

"Do you have a general feel for how the school is like?" I look at Noire, who nods, looking back at me.

"It's fairly simplistic, and similar to what I have read about, so it shouldn't be _too_ much of a hassle to get used to." She then gets up and turns to me with a smile. "Let's get those textbooks so that you can help me study the material that I need to."

"Are you sure you're gonna need help with studying?" I get up and dust off my pants, putting my hands in my pocket. "As someone who says that nobody can top them in academics, you should be able to handle the studying _all by yourself_."

"Sh-shut up! I just need to get into the groove, you know!? I'm still new to this dimension, so don't talk like I've been here my entire life!" She retorts, making me laugh.

"You're right, you're right. Let's get going before it gets too late," I say with the wave of my hand, signaling for the two of us to get the textbooks.

 **...**

"So basically what happens with this is…" The progress of helping Noire out with studying was going fairly quickly-in fact, it was going _much_ quicker than expected. Most of the material that I had assigned to Noire was completed within minutes, and when she needed help on solving an equation, she immediately understood how the solution was found, allowing her to go straight back to completing the rest of the section.

"Noire, you're amazing!" I pick up one of Noire's sheets, mesmerized by the neatness of her handwriting, as well as the accuracy of her solutions. It was as if she copied all of the answers off of the textbook, but made it even more accurate and understandable than the textbook!

"Well, duh! I'm the smartest person in the school! What do you expect?" She cockily grins and crosses her hands over her chest with a triumphant laugh.

"At least you can do something besides be huffy all day." I then begin to read over the rest of the papers, checking back and forth between the papers and the textbook's answers.

"Shut up! I can do _plenty_ of things that you haven't even _seen_ yet!" Noire always manages to find a retort to my comments towards her.

"Yeah, I know." I grin and hit Noire on the head with the pile of papers in my hand, placing them down in front of Noire. "You'll do just fine with the entrance exams. It's up to you whether you'd like to continue studying or not. You're smarter than the expectation of a top-scoring student, so I'm not worried about you _not_ getting into the highest class of the grade."

"Th-Thanks…" Is all she says with a bush, staring at the carpet as she anxiously fumbles with her hands in between her legs. _Finally she can take a compliment like a normal person would_. I grin and pat Noire on the head, getting an immediate growl out of her.

"I'll be downstairs if you need me for anything." With a wave, I begin to make my way out of the room. Suddenly feeling something wrap around my stomach, I feel Noire pull me into a small, yet firm embrace.

"C-can you stay here for a little while? Just in case I need help with anything." Her voice wasn't any louder than someone whispering into one's ear.

"Of course. It's the least that I can do." I turn back to Noire with a smile as she releases me from her hug.

"B-But it's not like I would be lonely if you were to go downstairs and play videogames without me or anything! I-I just need someone to help me with my studies if I need any help!" _There's the tsundere line everybody was waiting for._ I let out a sigh, giving Noire a pat on the back before walking over to my computer.

"Then tap my back if you need anything. I'll be playing on the PC while you study." Noire nods and I close the door behind us, watching as she immediately gets back to work, studying the material that I had assigned her.

 **...**

"I think I'm done for tonight." I turn to face Noire, who looks at me while holding up her sheets of papers. Glancing at the clock, I realize that it's almost ten.

"I guess now would be a good stopping point, so I wouldn't mind." I give her a nod, taking her papers and going through her answers while she walks out of the room and into the bathroom to get ready for bed.

 _Noire is truly amazing, no doubt about it._ I think to myself as I run my eyes down each page of her notes. _Now that I think about it, Noire, publicly, has a flawless appearance, both physically and mentally. Her astonishing beauty, her incredibly polite manners, even her athleticism and knowledge exceeds and excels. Honestly, I'm a bit jealous of her._ I let out a sigh, setting the stack of papers on the table, getting up to brush my teeth as well.

Entering the bathroom, I find Noire staring at me from the side as we brush our teeth. Giving her a sideways glance, she blushes and averts her gaze towards something else, spitting out her toothpaste and walking into the room. _I guess the only flaw with her is that she's a tsundere. To me, I don't personally care; I think it's quite adorable. But to other people, you never know what to expect._ I inwardly sigh and spit out my toothpaste, heading towards the bedroom as well.

Turning the corner, I find Noire taking off her shirt, revealing her pink bra. My face immediately burning red, I catch myself from entering the room and quickly hide behind the doorway. _Damnit, Noire! At least close the door and let me know that you're changing!_ I furrow my brow, attempting to push the image of Noire out of my mind. _Sh-she does have_ extremely _maintained skin though… I wonder what it's like to tou-_ I distract myself by knocking the wall by the door and clearing my throat.

"Tell me when you're finished changing, okay?" I receive an "okay" from Noire, allowing me to slump down against the wall with a sigh. _And yet, as a second year in high school, I still can't maintain my hormones._

"I know you saw me changing." I freeze, slowly staring up at Noire to find her glaring down at me, her arms crossed over her chest.

"It's your fault for not closing the door." I get up and brush past Noire, entering the room. "It wasn't even that much either. I only saw your bra." A smack was delivered straight to my back. A hard smack at that. Hearing the door slam behind my back, I groan, rubbing the bruise on my back. Changing into my nightgown, I open the door to find Noire sitting against the wall.

"You can come in now." I look down at the girl to find her staring off past the railing on the stairs, down onto the lower floor. Watching as she stands up silently, she slips past me and into the room without a word, making me turn to find her slip into the bed with a small yawn. Walking into the room, I adjust my pillow and lie down on the floor, staring up at the ceiling.

 _Taking a look back when I first met Noire, our relationship wasn't the most smooth relationship to begin working with; Noire had claimed that I were to be her servant, and she had taken over the bed on the very first day._ I glance at Noire, who had buried herself in the covers of the bed. _Now, after two months, even though very much time has passed, I feel as if we have gotten used to each other for the most part. So much has happened in this short amount of time together than she's managed to change how I've become as a person._ Letting out a small sigh, I close my eyes, allowing myself to ponder on those thoughts as I feel myself begin to lose conscious.

* * *

 **~Author's Note!~**

 **Hey, everyone! Could this possibly be the turning point of the story? Who knows? c: A bit more fanservice at the end, but nonetheless, Noire will always be a tsundere :3**

 **Have an amazing day, and thank you so much for supporting me by reading my works! :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**•[•]•[•] Hiroshi [•]•[•]•**

Waking up, I find my arms wrapped around something, that something having slight weight to it. Looking down at the thing on my chest, I find myself staring at a sleeping, twintail haired tsundere: Noire.

"Alright, Ms. Cuddlebuns, it's time to wake up!" I then pick her up and toss her onto the bed, receiving a groan of discomfort from Noire. Sitting up, I watch as she turns to me with an ice-cold glare, her bright red eyes piercing into mine.

"What was that for!?" She sits up on the bed, pointing at me with a growl. "You could've at least woken me up the _normal_ way!" As she pouts, I just get up and begin to make my way out of the room.

"Either way you would've had a similar reaction." I walk into the bathroom, beginning to brush my teeth.

"You're stupid…" Noire mumbles as she makes her appearance in the bathroom, grabbing her toothbrush and beginning to brush her teeth.

"You're such a tsundere." I manage to mumble, getting a punch in the shoulder.

"Why do you always use the fact that I'm a tsundere as something to refute my comments!? I-It's not like I _am_ one or anything!" She pouts as the two of us head down the stairs, dressed in our uniforms that we had received in a package last week. Thankfully we didn't run into any troubles like we had yesterday.

"Because it's obvious." I dodge Noire's attempt to hit me again.

"Sh-shut up!" She huffs and the two of us head downstairs, slipping on our shoes and heading out of the house to take the entrance exams.

 **...**

"Oho! Look who's arrived!" The two of us enter the room, only to be greeted by my homeroom teacher last year, Mr. Jameson. He came to Japan from the U.S. in pursuit of his dream; being able to teach in a Japanese high school. He's actually an otaku who messes up his Japanese at times, but nonetheless is an outstanding teacher.

"Yo." Is all I say before leaning against the wall of the classroom while Noire takes her seat in the middle of the room, where she then was pestered by stares from the other students enrolling for the class.

"So," Mr. Jameson directs everyone's attention back to him. "You all know that you're here for the entrance exams, correct? If not, I don't know what the heck you're doing here!" He then looks around to see if anyone actually _did_ step into the wrong classroom.

Meanwhile, I cast a glance at Noire, who takes a look around the room, stopping when she catches her eyes on a girl who had two black pigtails, her eyes a slightly darker shade of red, dressed in a black blouse with white roses arranged on the bottom of the blouse.

"Excuse me, Miss Twintails in the middle!" Mr. Jameson calls out to Noire, who jumps at the sound of her unexpected, and unappreciated, nickname. "You're attention should be at _me_ not the girl." Noire's face burns red as the teacher just sighs and puts his hands on his hips. "I'm Mr. Jameson, your future homeroom teacher! That is, if you pass the exam, which I'm sure _all_ of you are capable of doing! There will be multiple tests, five to be exact, each test covering the core classes that you will be taking in your sophomore year: English, math, Japanese, science and social studies. You will have an hour to work on each test-all of the problems that you don't complete will be counted as a zero, which will then lower your overall score-so do you best to complete all of the problems given to you.

"With that said, before we begin the tests, you all need to introduce yourselves to the class so that you guys can get friendly with each other during the breaks. The breaks last ten minutes in between tests to get your mind prepared for the next test, or to socialize. We'll start with the young man over there." He holds up a finger, as well as a wink, to me.

"I have to introduce myself?" I point to myself, getting a nod out of Mr. Jameson.

"It's that or you're outta the classroom." He grins, receiving a sigh from me.

"As cruel as ever, Mr. Jameson." I grin, then turn to face the class who expectantly waits for me to introduce myself. "I'm Hiroshi Fujita. This will be my second year at Ksugakari High, so I look forward to meeting you all in the upcoming year!" Everyone claps before the next student introduces himself.

As the students then introduce themselves to the class, it came to the time when the girl Noire had been staring at began to introduce herself.

"H-Hello, everyone! I-I'm Uni, and this is my first year at this high school! I hope to g-get along with everyone!" With a blush on her face, she sits back down. Looking at Noire, I find her staring at Uni with an extremely surprised gaze, there was a hint of joy in her eyes as well. _What's up with Noire?_ I think to myself as she then introduces herself, getting a small gasp out of Uni. _There's seriously something going on between those two._

After everyone had introduced themselves, Mr. Jameson handed me a stack of tests, in which I began to hand them out to the students.

Setting one down on Noire's desk, she beckons for me to lean close, holding up a hand to my ear.

"That girl named, Uni." She says, glancing at the girl who had begun to start her test, immediately breaking the lead of her pencil. "Is my sister."

"Wh-what!? Your sister!?" I almost shout into Noire's ear, refraining myself from doing so with a slight cough. "Is she older or younger?"

"Younger."

"Then why is she in the class?"

"I wouldn't know! You ask her once it's break time!"

"I should be the one saying that to you! You're the one who should approach her since _you're_ her sister!" Before Noire could reply, I move on to handing tests to the rest of the students, who had been patiently waiting for their tests.

* * *

 **•[•]•[•] Noire [•]•[•]•**

 _What do I do!? What do I do!?_ I think to myself, pacing back and forth in the hallway as I take awkward glances at Uni, who busies herself in the classroom with her supplies. We had just finished our first test, Japanese, and Mr. Jameson had let us out to our break. _Should I run up to her and give her a hug? Do I yell at her? Do I start crying in front of her! O-Oh wait, scratch the last thought._ She then gets up and out of her chair with a dust of her blouse, walking towards my direction. Watching as she approaches, she then stops in front of me.

"H-Hello, Uni!" Is all I manage to sputter before feeling my face burn up like a meteor that's about to collide with the Earth's surface.

"H-Hey, Onee-chan." Is all she mumbles as she begins to fumble around with her fingers.

"H-how'd the test go? Did you do okay?" _This is a lot more awkward than I had thought._

"Yeah, I feel fairly confident in my answers. How about you?"

"Same here. Hiroshi helped me a bunch last week on the material." I then stop myself. "I-I mean it's not like I was at his house or anything, I swear! It's just that…" I trail off, realizing that I was just digging my own grave.

"Hiroshi? You mean the one guy who was standing to the side of the classroom?" Uni points at Hiroshi, who busies himself with a couple of the transfer students.

"Yeah. That's him."

"Is that the guy you wrote to in that SOS?" I freeze, looking up at Uni, who looks directly back at me.

"Yeah. That's him." Is all I respond with, getting a nod out of my younger sister.

"Hey, now that I think about it." I quickly change the subject before it could go any further. "How'd you even end up here? Were you all alone before you came here?"

"N-No! Of course I wasn't! I have my own way of surviving in this place!" She then points to the garden, where a man with a white, collared shirt, along with a loosely tied tie and khakis sat on a bench, texting on his phone. "He's been taking good care of me! Apparently he's in his third year now. His name is Masaki Fujita." _Wait. If his surname is Fujita, then he must be related to Hiroshi!_

"That's relieving to hear." I give Uni a smile, watching as she then blushes and nods silently. "I'm just glad that you're safe and sound. Nothing would hurt me more than to hear that you're not doing well." I give Uni a small hug, hearing Mr. Jameson clap twice, signaling for us to head back into the classroom.

"Let's do these next tests with all of our might, Onee-chan!" Uni says before the two of us return to our seats, beginning the math exam.

* * *

 **•[•]•[•] Hiroshi [•]•[•]•**

Hearing Mr. Jameson clap twice to regroup the transfers, I let out a sigh, catching someone out of my peripheral view. Looking to my right, I find a man sitting on a bench outside on his phone. _Do I recognize that gangster-esque guy sitting on the bench?_ Walking over to him, he looks up at me with bright blue eyes, his brunette spikes had seemed to be screaming "Gel".

"Long time no see, Hiroshi." He gives me a wave before moving on the bench so that there was room for me to sit.

Taking his offer, I sit down and look at him with a sideways stare. "How long has it been since I've talked to you, Masaki?" I then cock my head back to stare up at the trees.

"Just over two years. How's the house? Do you feel happy now that you've owned a house, _all by yourself_?" He looks at me with a glance and I let out a sigh.

"It felt like shit until this one girl came and changed my _entire_ life." I let out a laugh, getting a chuckle out of Masaki.

"'This one girl', huh?" He grins and rests his elbow on my shoulder. "Tell me about it."

"Alright. Well, her name is Noire. The way the two of us had met was not the greatest. It sort of went like that, and then this happened, so then that happened."

"Ahh, I see. So that happened while that other thing happened, leading up to this stuff happening."

"So yeah, we've ended up living together for a solid three months now. It took quite a bit of adjusting, but it worked out. How about you?"

"Just about three months ago, same time as you, this girl knocked on my door. Her name is Uni, and she's a real sweet girl. She's in this entrance exam as well, so those two should be taking the tests together. I think I saw them chatting during the break as well."

"You know," I turn to look at my older brother, who lowers his phone and looks back at me. "Those two are sisters."

Masaki's first response was a laugh. A hard laugh at that. Once he had calmed down and wiped his eyes, he turned to look at me with a grin. "How funny is that? Two sisters separate and meet two brothers who had separated. I met Uni, you met Noire."

"What a coincidence, two sisters meeting two brothers." I let out a chuckle.

Masaki suddenly throws a curveball at me. "Hey, have you taken a liking to Noire?"

"Wh-What does that mean!?" I exclaim, standing up, feeling my face burn red.

"Well that gives me part of the answer right there." He grins while I groan.

"It isn't like that! I just mistook your question for something else."

"But what if my question _was_ that something else?" He then leans in. "Do you think she's hot, Mr. Singleton?" He then punches me in the shoulder, making me let out a groan.

"Yeah, I guess she's hot. What about you? What do you think about Uni?" I respond with the simplistic "Boy Talk". _I guess I've never really thought about that question before. If I were to say anything about Noire, she's like a little sister. An obnoxious one._

"Uni? She's the most adorable thing that I've met in my _entire_ life! Do you know how tsundere that girl is!?" He grins a wide grin as he puts an elbow to his knee, resting his chin on the palm of his hand. "What has anime gotten me into…"

"I guess to truthfully answer your question." Masaki looks up at me with an expectant look. "Noire's like an obnoxious little sister, a cute one at that. I guess the 'Tsundere' trait runs in that family." The two of us laugh but then fall silent again.

"The break should be over soon. Why don't you talk to your girlfriend while you're here."

"Wh-what!? Girlfriend my _ass_!" I stand up and glare at my older brother, who just waves a hand and walks off to wherever he's headed to. Sure enough, I hear the relieved groans from the transfer students as Mr. Jameson dismisses them for another break. Noticing that Noire had exited the room with Uni, I see them make their way over to me.

Standing up to greet them, Noire takes the initiative of the conversation. "Hey, Hiroshi! This is my sister, Uni." She then points to the girl next to her, whose face had gone completely red.

"I-I-It's nice to m-meet you, H-Hiroshi!" She then bows in front of me, catching me off guard.

"H-Hey, ease up, will you! It's not like I'm the principal or anything!" I put my hand on Uni's shoulder, watching as she looks up at me, her dark red eyes staring into mine.

"A-Are you sure? If you're Noire's acquaintance, then you have a higher power than me!"

"Says who!?" I glare at Noire, who just whistles. "A-anyway, I'm Hiroshi. It's a pleasure to meet you." I hold out a hand, in which Uni awkwardly shakes.

"You can call me Uni." She smiles and then looks at Noire, who busies herself with her twintails.

"Hey, Noire." I speak up, getting her attention.

"What's up?" She looks at the two of us with expectancy.

"I was wondering, how'd you two get separated in the first place? You two are sisters, right?" I look between the two of them, getting grim looks out of both of them. "S-Sensitive topic, huh?"

"N-No, you're fine!" Noire waves her hands in front of herself. "It's just that the situation leading up to us separating. Do you wanna hear the story?"

"If it's alright with you two, then sure." Noire nods and Uni begins to tell the story.

"So basically on our latest fight against the Seven Sages, we were actually successful in defeating all of the Sages except for one of them, the most powerful of them all: Arfoire. She was the most physically and mentally prepared out of the Sages. Even with the whole team, including the two of us, we were unable to withstand her power. She ended up... killing nearly all of our comrades, and even managed to kill me. Noire was able to resurrect me with a revival potion, but other than that, there was nothing that the two of us could do without being hurt or killed by Arfoire. Now, as far as how we got separated is beyond my knowledge, but I'm sure there was a reason for that." She then blushes and mumbles something to herself.

"So basically your last fight caused you two to be cast into Earth and you," I look at Noire. "Ended up meeting me while you," I look at Uni. "Ended up meeting my brother."

"Y-your brother!?" Uni exclaims, her eyes widening with surprise.

"Yeah, Masaki's my brother. I guess he or I should've mentioned that earlier. Sorry about that."

"N-No worries. I'm just surprised is all." The two of us fall into an awkward silence, Noire just looking back and forth between us.

"Why don't you guys come over tonight for dinner!" Uni and I look at Noire with shock, surprised at the sudden idea. "I-I mean it's only for a celebration after the entrance exams!"

I then nod in agreement. "That sounds good! I wouldn't mind hosting the party for the four of us: Me, you, Uni and Masaki." I smile and the two girls glance between me and themselves.

"I-I guess I can do it if you're alright with us coming over." Uni blushes and averts her gaze from mine.

"It's fine, it's only the four of us so there won't be any trouble with you guys coming over." I then instinctively pat Uni on the head, receiving a small noise out of the girl as I do so.

"Y-You don't have to pet me, you know!" She huffs at me and stomps her foot on the ground.

"S-Sorry I got carried away…" I mumble to myself, quickly taking my hands off of her head and shove them into my pocket.

"Hey, ladies! Even though Hiroshi is a chick magnet, there's no time to be chatting with him! It's time for the next test!" The three of us turn to find Mr. Jameson peeking his head out of the classroom.

"Well, it's best if we head off to finish our tests!" Noire gives me a wave as she directs a blushing Uni back into the classroom.

* * *

 **~Author's Note!~**

 **Hey, everyone! How'd you like the chapter? I'm sure most of you were thinking, _"_ When is Uni going to make an appearance after she disappeared?!" Finally she's made an appearance so you don't have to worry about any of that anymore! Did you notice the blatantly vague dialogue between Masaki and Hiroshi (It's a reference from Re;Birth 1 when Neptune meets IF, just in case I need to point it out to you :3).**

 **Anyway! I have a more important announcement to make about this story and the other stories! I am busy with school and it has been taking a toll on my writing. I haven't been able to write anything good, so I will be posting every Friday like usual, it's just that I might post a week after the due date for the next chapter, etc. I know I said this last time and I never touched the story again! I deeply regret doing that, so I will be making a plot line when I get the motivation to write just small bits to keep myself from completely abandoning the stories! With that said, I will do my best to get a chapter out every week like usual, but if you don't find me posting a chapter weekly, I hope that you'll understand the reasoning for why I didn't :)**

 **With that said, have an _amazing_ day and thank you for supporting me through my process of writing all of these other stories (and if you've only been checking out this story, thank you so much for being a reader of this story!)! :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**•[•]•[•] Noire [•]•[•]•**

"Alright, that's the last of 'em! Have a great rest of your day, kiddos! I hope to see _every_ _single one_ of you in this upcoming year!" Mr. Jameson dismisses us and we all let out a relieved sigh, quickly getting up and out of the room. Turning the corner, I find Hiroshi leaning against the wall.

"We're finished." I poke him on the shoulder, making him open his eyes and turn to face me.

"How'd things go?" I shrug and glance back at Uni, who finds herself wandering in the opposite direction of us.

"It went just fine. All of the questions that we had went over were there on the test. Th-thanks for the help." I mumble the last part, feeling my face burn with embarrassment as I acknowledge Hiroshi's help from the past few days.

"It's about time you said that!" He just grins and I glare at him.

"Wh-what's that supposed to mean!?" I growl at him but he just slips his hands into his pockets and walks over to Uni, setting a hand on her shoulder and turning her around.

"I mean what I say." Hiroshi just grins and Uni just tilts her head in confusion.

"Whatever! It's not like I want to know or anything!" I huff.

"Wh-what happened between you two? Is everything okay?" Uni looks between us with a look of worry.

"Yeah, we're fine. Right, Noire?" He smiles down at me, in which I look up at him with a glare. "It's just our usual banter."

"Whatever you say, Hiroshi." Uni then smiles and puts her hands behind her back as she begins to walk towards the school gates. "Let's hurry home so that we can prepare for the party, shall we?"

"Of course." Hiroshi then begins to walk with Uni, leaving me to stand there in frustration. _I hope that idiot doesn't get_ too _attached to my little sister!_ I huff to myself and catch up to the two of them.

 **...**

"Hey, Noire!" Uni plops herself down on the couch next to me, grabbing a controller from the coffee table and leans back into the couch.

"What's up, Uni?" I pause the game and turn towards Uni.

"What do you think of Hiroshi? Is he a cool guy?" _I wouldn't really say "cool"._

"I guess he's alright. He's a good man when he wants to be, but he annoys me whenever he gets the chance to." I turn back to the console, resuming the game.

"Is he the Guardian that you were looking for?" Uni's next comment makes me stop, the zombies on the TV quickly advancing on the screen and devouring my character.

"Wh-wh-what's that supposed to mean!?" I practically shout at Uni, my face burning hotter than the sun at this point as I instinctively stand up.

"I-Is that a question that I shouldn't've asked?" She looks at me with a hint of regret in her eyes.

"N-No, you're fine. The question just caught me off guard is all." I then clear my throat and look around to make sure that nobody else but Uni was listening in on the information that I was about to spill. "If I were to legitimately answer your question, then I couldn't've asked for a better person to take care of me. Even though I haven't had much experience with men, and that he's one of the most annoying people in this dimension, I can see and feel the care and attention he has towards me. I-I mean he isn't _that_ great, but he passes the test for living up to my standards!" I huff and restart the level, trying to get my thoughts about Hiroshi out of my head. _D-Did I just tell that to Uni!? Was that too much? I hope she doesn't laugh at me! She'll probably tease me about being a loner and finally finding someone who I can be friends with!_ I think to myself, shaking my head as my twintails slap the thoughts away.

Uni then bursts out laughing, catching me off guard again. "This is a first!" She pauses to catch her breath. "You have never expressed your thoughts about anyone so positively! Normally you would've been all 'I don't wanna get friendly with anyone because it would get in the way of work!', but now you've thought of someone positively!" She smiles one of the biggest smiles I've ever seen her smile, making me blush.

"Wh-wha-!? I-It's not _that_ important! I've just… changed is all! Yeah, that's right... I've changed!" I make up an excuse to avoid the direct hit that Uni had delivered to my heart.

"Whatever you say, Big Sis." She then grabs my controller and switches the lobby to multiplayer. "Let's play a couple of games while we're at it to get your mind off of your future boyfriend!" I let out a sigh before taking my controller back from her, starting the lobby.

* * *

 **•[•]•[•] Hiroshi [•]•[•]•**

"Hey, ladies!" I call out to the gaming room, where I hear shouting as well as the firing of electronic guns from the TV. "Dinner's ready!"

"Alright, we're about finished with the round! Give us three minutes tops!" The two girls respond to my call, leaving Masaki and I to set up the table for the meal.

"Well, if you _do_ end up taking more than three minutes, we're gonna start without you! In case you're wondering, we're having sukiyaki tonight!" It was Masaki who taunted the two girls.

"Don't you _dare_ eat without us! I'm gonna kill you if you do!" Noire yells at the two of us, receiving a flinch out of us.

"As long as you don't end up taking more than three minutes!" I grin and take my seat as Noire just growls at me from the gaming room.

"So," Masaki turns to me. "How's Noire been lately?"

Leaning back in my chair, I look back at my older brother. "She's been doing okay. She's stayed as her normal tsundere self. It'll be interesting to see what friends she'll be making once school starts." He just nods and glances at the food before returning his gaze onto me.

"Well, let's hope she _does_ end up making friends." Masaki chuckles and leans back into his seat, resting his arms on the armrests beside him. "I'm sure she won't have any problems doing so, just as long as she lowers her level of Tsundere towards people." I let out a laugh and begin to stare at the design of the bowl in front of me.

"I can agree with you on that. She can be a normal girl when she wants to be, but the rest of the times it's her being her normal self as a tsundere." I then look up at Masaki to find him on his phone. "What's Uni like over at your place?"

"I guess I can describe her as a mellow version of Noire, at least from what I hear from your description of Noire. She's a good cook and does pretty much all of the chores around the house. That's a lifesaver for me." We both laugh at his last comment. My brother, Masaki, is the opposite of me when it comes to chores and cleanliness. Masaki would be the definition of the stereotypical male: messy and lazy. Hardly doing any chores, Masaki isn't one you would be able to rely on when given the task of cleaning or doing any housework.

"All in all," He continues, holding up his empty glass and spinning it in his palm slowly. "She's a real sweet girl. Honestly, I couldn't've asked for anybody better than her if I were to be able to get close with anybody of the opposite sex. She's cute, does chores, cooks for you. She's even a tsundere."

"Shut up, you pervert!" I punch Masaki in the shoulder, getting a groan out of him. "Don't say that out loud!" I forgot to mention, Masaki is an extroverted pervert. _Hopefully Uni will be okay in Masaki's household._ I think to myself as the two sisters appear from the gaming room.

"I beat you once again, Uni!" Noire lets out a cocky laugh as Uni just gives her sister a small smile.

"So what's for dinner?" Uni takes a seat next to Masaki, who grins and puts his hands on his hips.

"Your favorite, Uni! Sukiyaki!" I watch as Uni's eyes light up as she turns to Masaki with a big smile.

"Really!? Who thought of the idea?" He points to me, in which I just give the girl a smile.

"It's no big deal, Uni. Masaki gave me the idea because he told me a little bit about you on the way home." _I hope that didn't sound creepy._ I think to myself as I sigh inwardly.

"Y-you didn't have to do that, idiot!" She exclaims as Masaki just lets out a chuckle.

"Let's start eating before the food gets cold, okay?" He diverts Uni's attention from himself and onto the food.

"Yes, let us eat! That would be very helpful on my stomach." Noire speaks up as she pats her stomach lightly.

"Itadakimasu!" I give thanks to the food, the others following in pursuit as we all begin to help ourselves to the hot pot.

As we begin to eat the food, I notice the similarities between each of the families. Noire and Uni take a designated serving, almost the exact same amount as each other, and begin to carefully eat it as if it were at a formal restaurant. Masaki and I both take large proportions and immediately beginning to shovel it down out mouths. _Typical for the guys and girls, huh?_ I think to myself as I begin to chew on a mushroom. Swallowing the mushroom, I find myself staring at Noire, who catches me staring at her.

"Wh-what is it? Do I have something on my face?" She then glares at me as I shake my head and set my utensils down.

"What was Gamindustri like before the whole incident happened?" I look at Noire, who sets her chopsticks down.

"It was quite busy, but at the same time, it was pretty fun and lively as well." She begins, looking between the three of us as she then continues her story. "Back in Gamindustri, Lastation was known to have the only 'fully-working' CPU. What I mean by that is that the other three CPUs were either sitting on their couch and doing nothing, playing video games 24/7, or writing books all day. Experiencing the workload that a CPU gets everyday was excruciating, but I had my sister, Uni, to help me out." She gives Uni a small pat on her lap, who returns a smile at her older sister.

"Even though there's a lot of work that had to be done, Noire would make time to be around our other friends: the other CPUs. And when we ever _could_ make time for them, we always would have a lot of fun, go out to places, eat top class delicacies, and play games together for the whole day." Uni finishes Noire's thoughts as she slurps a few noodles and some of the broth.

"I guess it makes sense as to why you're so intelligent." Masaki and I say, the two of us directing the compliment towards the Lastation sister that had been living with us.

"Sh-shut up, Hiroshi! I-I'm not _that_ good!" Noire pouts at me.

"Y-you idiot, Masaki! I'm only good because Noire helped me study!" Uni stammers to Masaki, her face burning bright red.

The two girls returned to eating, but in a more rushed fashion; the two immediately stuffing their faces with the sukiyaki, their cheeks burning red in embarrassment. It took a few bites for their bodies to finally catch up with them and force them to aspirate, calming them down. Watching the two, flustered girls quietly eat their meals, I let out a chuckle and return to eating my meal as well.

 **...**

"Hey, Uni?" I look over to Uni who look up at me as she hands me a wet, but clean dish.

"What's up, Hiroshi?" I begin to dry the dish before walking over to replace the empty space that the plate should return to.

"I was wondering," I make my way back to Uni, who hands me another dish. "What was Noire like back in Gamindustri?" The question made Uni freeze for a second, stopping her from washing the dish and letting the water from the faucet wash away the dish soap.

"Why are you asking a question like this now?" I look down at Uni to find her resuming in her cleaning. "I mean, I wouldn't mind answering your question, but can't you just ask her yourself?"

"I can't really ask her when I've already experienced a little bit of PTSD from Noire when I've attempted to approach her about the subject of 'Gamindustri'." I let out a small sigh, drying the dish that Uni had handed to me.

"Well, my sister is a tough sister!" Uni huffs at me, practically shoving another dish into my hand. "She should be strong enough to overcome some stupid memory! I've never known my sister to be someone who backs down from a fight. She's never done that; it's quite the opposite really. Noire's so stubborn even Neptune couldn't bribe her with friendship!" She then lets out a laugh.

"Don't tell her I said the last part, okay? She'll get pretty pissed at me." I give Uni a smile and she then continues. "I guess if I were to give any answer to your question, I would have you go up to Noire herself to find out the info you need. She'd be happy if you were the one to ask her that question instead of you asking me the question. She appreciates your attention towards her more than you'd think." She gives me a wink and a nudge on the shoulder before turning back to the dishes.

"I can take care of the rest of the dishes. You can go on ahead and chat with Noire." Uni smiles and I give her a small smile, drying off my hands with the towel in my hand before heading up the stairs into our room.

* * *

 **Hey, everyone! I'll just post this chapter in advanced (not really because you've already waited a week for me to post this chapter xDD) so that you guys can just get that weight of "when is HDNftw going to end up posting that chapter that we've been waiting for!?"**

 **Anyway! How'd you enjoy the chapter? Nothing better than a chapter full of tsun! I personally will be sure to include much more tsundere content as possible within this story!**

 **As far as my other story, Guilty Pleasure (which has been a huge hit ever since I posted it...like 3 weeks ago), I will be very slow at updating that story. Since I, personally, am an author who mainly focuses on one story (as you have seen from the past with the Experiment and the Zero Dimension, both stories have good plot ideas, I just don't have the motivation, time, or creativity to write those stories), and so I will be mainly focusing on _this_ story in order to maintain the quality of writing and not go downhill like the original GoL... Nonetheless, I will continue to write on Guilty Pleasure, but it will be maybe once every 1-2 months!**

 **Anyway, thank you for sticking with my for all of this time that I have been posting on this site, and have an amazing day! :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**•[•]•[•] Hiroshi [•]•[•]•**

"Hey, Noire." I knock twice on the side of the doorway, watching as Noire turns her head in my direction, a pencil in hand.

"What's up, Hiroshi?" I begin to make my way over to her as she shuts the notebook in front of her closed. As she placed her hand over the notebook, in a suspiciously hurried manner, I caught the word "Lastation" written in black and grey letters on the front.

"Nothing much, just tired is all," I say, flopping down onto the bed, staring at the ceiling, which was dimly lit by the light of Noire's nightlight.

"Whatever you say, Hiroshi." She then opens her notebook once more and begins to write in it.

"What is that notebook that you've got there?" I look at Noire with a sideways glance, finding her gaze focused on me, her red eyes staring into mine. "It's the first time that I've ever seen one in your possession."

"It's nothing special. Why do you ask?" She sets her pencil down, turning her chair so that she's facing me.

"I dunno, it just reminded me of something is all." I avert my gaze from Noire and towards the ceiling again, staring at the boring paint job on the ceiling.

"What's that 'something'? Is it something important?" She walks over to the bed and sits on the floor, her arms propped up on the bed, resting her cheek against it.

"Just a question is all. It's up to you to decide whether it's important or not." I smile, getting a pout out of the tsundere.

"Well just ask it already!" She huffs at me.

"Okay, okay!" I then sit up and look down at Noire, who looks up at me with expectancy. "I-I guess to state it blatantly, what were you like back in Gamindustri? B-before the whole incident happened and all, of course!"

"You're seriously asking that now?" She lets out a sigh and lets herself sink into the bed's cushioning.

"Well I wouldn't be asking it if I wasn't going to ask it, would I now?"

"You're so annoying sometimes, Hiroshi." I look at the noirette and give her a small pat on the head.

"Don't change the subject, Missy." She lets out another sigh before lifting herself up and sitting herself next to me.

"Well instead of changing the subject, let me ask _you_ a question, Hiroshi." I look up to find Noire looking down at me with a hint of seriousness in her eyes.

"What's up?"

"Why do you care so much about my past?"

The question made me pause for a little bit, making me stop thinking about my next retort to Noire's future acknowledgements. _Why_ do _I care about her past so much? I've never really thought about it that much. Is it my selfishness? My care towards Noire? A little bit of both?_ I think to myself, focusing on the pencil, which seemed to be illuminated by the nightlight that rested on the desktop.

"If I were to honestly answer your question," I begin, sitting up so that I could meet her gaze at a comfortable level. "I care so much because you mean a lot to me. Even though we've only been together for nearly three months now, it feels like forever. Also, it's so that I can use it as blackmail against you later."

"Wh-what was that last part!?" Noire lets out a growl and socks me in the shoulder, making me grit my teeth. _That girl sure does pack a punch._

"B-But in all seriousness, you do mean a lot to me. You might not know this, but you've definitely changed my life, Noire. You've made quite the interesting appearance, using me as your landing pad and all, but that's besides the point. I just would like to say thanks for all that you've done. Both the good things that you've done, and the not-so-good things that you've done."

"Y-You idiot! You don't ha-" I gently wrap my arm around her shoulder and pull her close against my body. Feeling the warmth in Noire's cheeks rising by the second, I let out a sigh and give her a small poke in her neck, making her jerk against my hand which tickled her. _So she's also ticklish, huh?_

"I-I hate you, Hiroshi!" She pouts before pulling herself away from me, crossing her arms over her chest.

"There's the tsundere I know." I grin and get up from the bed, beginning to make my way out of the room. "We'd better entertain our guests before they leave for the night, Noire. Maybe we can do a 2v2 on the Plaestation or something before they leave. Anyway, I'll be headed downstairs, so take your time and come down whenever you wanna play." I glance behind me at Noire, who now has her arms relaxed and to her sides. Letting out a small sigh, I then turn back and head down the stairs, where I was greeted by Masaki and Uni in the living room.

* * *

 **•[•]•[•] Noire [•]•[•]•**

 _That idiot, teasing me like that! He's gonna pay for doing that!_ I glare at Hiroshi's back as he makes his way out of the room. _Honestly, that idiot goes way too far sometimes..._

Letting out a sigh, I turn back to my notebook, which was waiting for me to open it back up and write in it again. Opening the notebook, I find myself staring at a slip of paper, which lay faced up on the notebook paper.

On the paper, it read:

* * *

 _To Noire,_

 _Hey, best pal! It's your buddy, Neptune! Now you may be wondering, 'how in the heck of the King Dogoos did you manage to slip this paper into my notebook!' Well, here's the thing! It's all a matter of the power of plot convenience, you kno-_

* * *

I stop reading the note and crumple the piece of paper up, tossing it into the recycling bin on the side of the desk. _That idiot's going on about that "plot convenience" nonsense again._ I let out another sigh and close my notebook, getting up from my chair and exiting the room to join the others downstairs.

As I exited the room, I heard something shift from behind me, making me turn around in curiosity and confusion. Before, my notebook was on the desk, closed with the pen lying on the top of it, but it was suddenly missing along with the pen itself! _What in Gamindustri's lands of Black Regality just happened?_ I begin to make my way into the room to find a note on the desk, written in handwriting that somehow looked familiar, but not enough to strike a memory:

* * *

 _Dear fellow CPUs,_

 _Just as a disclaimer, I have already sent out letters to the other CPUs, informing them about your situations as far as being… cast into another dimension. All of this being according to my plan, I've made some of my own moves as far as controlling things back in Gamindustri! Lucky for you, I was kind enough to continue to have each of your nations completely in tact, as well as each of your share levels to be at a constant rate!_

 _As you have probably figured out, you've all gotten letters from each other via a random notebook that you've suddenly begun to write in, recording your daily history of the past few weeks, correct? Let's call this process "Extradimensional Dispersion". You all are still connected ever-so-slightly by your memories of each other, hence the reason why you've acquired letters from each other. Overtime, you will also be able to regain some of your abilities, so once you_ do _acquire your powers once again, use them wisely in order to help you escape the dimension that you have been trapped within._

 _With that being said, I won't interfere with any of your events that you have partaken in so far, so with that said, I will end my letter here before I reveal_ too _much information._

 _Let us partake in conversation once again!_

* * *

"Well that totally isn't weird at all!" I glare at the piece of paper, which stared back at me with no response. "Who would, or could, even send something like that to me!? And apparently that person has the power to send letters through different dimensions!? That is beyond my knowledge, or even anyone that I know of!" I let out a long sigh before folding the piece of paper up and slipping it into my section of the drawers.

It was then that I noticed something on the bottom left of the handle of the drawer: a small icon. Raising my finger up to it, I slowly press on it, watching as it revealed a small, pop-up screen that read, "How would you like to access your inventory?"

"So this really _is_ just like that person had said!" I exclaim, my voice expressing a hint of excitement, as well as caution.

Quickly typing in a response to the question, a grid, full of items that looked extremely familiar, appeared in front of me. _This is the inventory that I had back in Gamindustri! How can this be?_ I then notice an item in my inventory in the bottom right corner of my inventory. _The notebook!_ I let out a small gasp, staring at the empty desk and back at my inventory.

"Oh, Goddess, how will I be able to explain something like this to Hiroshi!?" I scratch the back of my head with a frustrated grumble before closing my inventory. Turning to the doorway, which lead to the hallway that neared the stairs, I quickly take the letter from the mysterious person and slip it into my breast pocket before heading down the stairs to meet up with Hiroshi, Masaki and Uni.

 **...**

"What took you so long?" Hiroshi tosses me a controller, in which I catch and sit myself next to him. "We nearly finished two rounds without you!"

"I'm sorry that I found out that you brought a bag of chips into the room and that it spilled all over the floor!" _Half of that was a lie._ I thought to myself as Hiroshi began to set up the next game. _There technically_ was _a bag of chips, but it never spilled or anything._

"O-oh, really? My bad." He awkwardly apologizes in front of Masaki and Uni, who have their attention towards their minigame of Rock, Paper, Scissors. "Are you guys and gals down for a few more rounds of Call of D*ty?" We all nod and Hiroshi continues to set up the teams and rules.

"Just saying," Uni glances at me with a cocky grin. "Even though I am your little sister, doesn't mean that I can't beat you at a game!"

"It's no use to get all high and mighty when I've already won the match!" I retort, grabbing my controller and putting on a game face.

"Now that you two are fired up, I can't help but get fired up as well!" Hiroshi grins and starts the match, our characters entering the battlefield, preparing us for a 2v2.

"Game on! We're gonna beat you two so hard that you're gonna wanna wish that you never even played us in the first place!" Masaki taunts Noire and I, the two of us selecting our sets before preparing for the battle.

* * *

 **~Author's Note!~**

 **Hey, everyone! Okay, I know that you all have been waiting _yet again_ another week before I update GoL. I've been extremely busy with schoolwork, and i have also started to partake in some extracurricular work at school as well. With that being said, I would like to formally announce to you that I am going to be most likely posting every _two_ weeks now. At least until I am able to have the motivation to write a lot more (which I haven't got the ideas nor motivation to do so). Anyway, how are you guys enjoying the story so far? Has it been repetitive just like the last story? Is it better? Worse? What about Hiroshi x Noire? Is it progressing smoothly or not really? Nonetheless, if you have read up to this point (or if you're just starting from here, then go ahead and work backwards I guess?), thank you for all of the support that you have given me!**

 **Have an _amazing_ day! :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**•[•]•[•] Noire [•]•[•]•**

A few more weeks had passed, and the transfers had acquired their exam results, mine being valid for the attendance of Ksugakari High. Meanwhile, the situation of me telling Hiroshi about the progression of the rejuvenation of my powers had been left untouched and postponed. Not much had happened after Uni and Masaki left our residence, leaving Hiroshi and I to prepare for the first day of high school. The remainder of the time had passed uneventfully, the relaxation of summer dwindling down by the hour.

"Noire, are you nervous about your first day at a high school?" Hiroshi gives me a sideways glance, his hand holding his suitcase full of materials being slung over his shoulder casually while his other hand had made it's way into his pant pocket.

"Wh-what do you mean, 'nervous'? I've already _been_ to the high school, and I've been a part of a movie club in another high school in the past where there were zombies… b-but that's besides the point! Forget I even said anything, idiot!" I huff and turn my head away from Hiroshi, my twintails smacking his gaze as he lets out a defeated sigh before focusing ahead of him as we continue walking down the road to Ksugakari High.

"Whatever you say, you stubborn tsundere." I turn my head to glare at Hiroshi when I suddenly hear a voice shouting behind us.

"Yoooooooooooooooo! Hiroooooooooooshiiiiiiiiiiiiii!" It sounded like a male's voice as it gradually grew closer and closer to the two of us.

"Is that-" Hiroshi turns around to suddenly be tackled by a blur of Ksugakari's color scheme: black, blue and white.

"It's been _so_ long! It feels like it has been _years_ since I've seen you last!" He lets out an over-exaggerated whimper as he gets up, flashing a smile down at his friend (victim?), Hiroshi.

"It hasn't been _that_ long, Tatsuya! A month isn't too bad, plus I haven't been able to hang out with you because of an old friend of mine decided to come in and crash into my house." _Does he mean that figuratively or literally?_ I think to myself as I watch the two men converse.

"And who might that be? How long has it been since you've seen him?" Tatsuya rests his elbow on Hiroshi's shoulder; Tatsuya was probably a good five inches taller than Hiroshi.

" _Her_ actually." Hiroshi corrects Tatsuya, who stands up straight, a surprised look creeping up onto his face, forming a raised eyebrow. He then turns to me and places a hand on my shoulder, making my face burn red in embarrassment. "This is Noire, my friend from way back when. Practically back in the dark ages of elementary school!" _I'm guessing that Hiroshi met Tatsuya in middle or high school._ _A-and who said the idiot could touch me like that so casually!?_ I think to myself as he introduces me to Tatsuya.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Noire! I'm Tatsuya Fubojiyashi! I hope we're able to get along during the time that we will be together!" He holds out a hand with a surprising sense of formality. Shaking his hand in response, I give him a smile.

"The pleasure is mine. Likewise." I introduce myself to Tatsuya, turning to Hiroshi who finally decides to take his hand off of my shoulder.

"Now that we have introduced ourselves to each other, shall we head to school?" Hiroshi smiles at the two of us and we both nod, following Hiroshi as he makes his way down the road to my future high school.

* * *

 **•[•]•[•] Hiroshi [•]•[•]•**

"J-just how long does that man have to speak for!?" Noire lets out a groan as she stretches her arms above her head.

I let out a laugh and slip my hands into my pocket. "It's your typical 'first speech of the school year about technicality' type of thing in high school."

"And you're expected to stay awake through all four hours of his lecture?" She retorts.

"Well we _did_ end up listening to his speech without taking a nap." I look down at Noire, who sighs and pulls a slip of paper out of her pocket.

"Hey, we're supposed to go to our third period class, right?" Noire looks back at me and I nod, looking over her shoulder to see which class she would be headed to next. Math.

"Yeah. We share the same class so you can just follow me. Math is going to be our homeroom teacher; Mr. Jameson. He teaches all math levels from algebra one to calculus, so he's going to be your teacher for the next two years." I begin to head down the hall, towards his classroom, hearing the "tap tap tap" of Noire's shoes as she catches up with me.

As we turn the corner, I receive a couple of "hello's" and your typical greetings from people whom you haven't seen in a couple months. Noire follows my lead, briefly introducing herself to her schoolmates around her as we pass by each classroom. Glancing down at Noire, I find her eyes flicking to each sign that was hung just above the room, which relayed which class was beyond the sliding doors. _Typical of Noire, taking note of everything in the school. I hope she doesn't stress herself out about walking into the wrong class._

"Welcome to your new homeroom." I slide open the door, revealing your typical classroom with rows of wooden, singular desks, windows that revealed the sports proportion of the campus, and the chalkboard that was hung on the front of the room. In front of the chalkboard was a man sitting on a reclining chair, his legs crossed over one another as he flips a page of a manga.

"Wow…" Noire steps inside, a smile plastered on her face. "I know that this isn't something to get excited about, but being inside of a school building, just like in those ani-" she cuts herself off with a slight cough, but then goes on. "Is so exhilarating."

"Is it now?" Mr. Jameson, the man on the reclining chair, closes his book, making Noire and I turn to him. "Funny you mention anime, girl. I came here _because_ of my obsession of anime. You know those typical teachers who are just so boring and dull in the school scenes, all of the students are so one-dimensional while the main character has bright pink hair or somethin' like that? The reason why I wanted to become a teacher was to change the way that people perceived the teacher and the other students to be: dull and boring. I wanted to make the _whole_ class lively and full of distinct personalities that everyone recognizes! Now you, young lady, are going to be enhanced through my class to become a better, and more interesting person than you already have been, you hear me?"

"Y-Yes, sir!" Noire awkwardly bows and I could feel the tension pulsating off of her.

"I-Is she okay? Do ya think I scared her?" Mr. Jameson points down at Noire, whose face had turned a bright red.

Patting Noire on the back, making her let out a small yelp of surprise, I let out a sigh. "Don't worry, Noire. He's not going to kill you! He's one of the most chill people I've ever met in my life. You've already experienced it firsthand; he was reading manga before we came here and _continued_ to read his manga while his students came in." I shoot a glare at Mr. Jameson, receiving a shaky laugh out of him.

"I-I was at an interesting part of the storyline is all!" He scratches the back of his head before walking back to his desk where he slips the manga into a drawer. "By the way, you noirette, I'm only calling you by vague descriptions and not by your name because you're going to introduce yourself to the class, you hear me?"

"O-Of course, Mr. Jameson." She then leans over to me. "Wh-where do I sit?"

"Anywhere is fine. I wouldn't choose the front row though." I proceed to choose the desk on the third row, furthest to the left so that I could feel the breeze of the wind as well as see the scenery of the sports field where students began to stretch in preparation of their routine. Setting an elbow onto the table and resting my chin on the palm of my hand, I watch as Noire hooks her schoolbag onto the table to my right before she sits down.

"Are you sure nobody is going to get mad at me for sitting here?" She anxiously glances back and forth, as if waiting for someone to do exactly as she had presumed to happen.

"Calm down, Noire. You're stressing out over the smallest of problems that might not even occur! It's fine. This is one of the safest places you'll ever be in and soon enough, you're gonna be best friends with everyone else in this school." I grin and reach over to pat Noire on the head, making her blush and sit up straight in her chair.

"Wh-what are you talking about, you idiot? Of course I'm going to be comfortable here…" she then rambles on to say something incomprehensible.

 **...**

The day progressed with hardly any trouble, mainly just introducing Noire to her fellow classmates, as well as a few of my friends from the past year and even middle or elementary school. Mr. Jameson, from Noire's perspective, was annoying through the way that she couldn't stand him treating her like the way he did:

"That idiot can't just tell me anything that he wants to!" Noire huffs and takes a frustrated bite out of her sandwich. "I'm going to show that American who's boss!"

"He's the teacher, you idiot. Don't get carried away." I let out a sigh before taking a sip of my ramen broth. "Soon enough you'll come to enjoy him; it's his personality. It's either you hate him for a solid year, or you can accept his personality and go with the flow."

" _You_ of all people shouldn't be telling me what to do either!" She glares at me, but proceeds to eat her lunch.

"Why's that? I technically have every right to tell you what you need to look out for and whatnot." I refute, making her stop in mid-bite.

"S-so? That doesn't mean that I can…" Noire trails off, attempting to figure out a retort to my comment.

"I believe that I've made my point." I blatantly state, slurping a bit of noodles as I do so.

Other than that, Noire seemed fine with the environment of the school. The teachers, except for Mr. Jameson in Noire's opinion, were fine, the social environment was very eco-friendly and a lot of people had immediately introduced themselves to Noire, unfortunately for Noire, she was slightly overwhelmed by the amount of friendliness and socialization towards her. Her only criticism towards the school is how and what they serve for their food, for she claims that they "don't live up to her expectations", my refutation being that "homemade cooking is always better than cooking from anywhere else."

It was our last period of the day, which ended up being a session where we would explore the campus in order to figure out which club we'd like to partake in for the year. Uni, Noire and I had ended up walking together in a small group, wandering around the campus in search for a suitable club.

Examining the sports clubs, I briefly skimmed through the information displayed on posters or imagery as we walked by each of the club stands. I feel a tug at the sleeve of my shirt, making me stop and look down at Noire, who has her attention focused towards one of the booths.

Turning my attention towards what Noire had been focused on, I find myself staring at a booth that read "Extradimensional Dispersion". Glancing between Noire and the stand, I attempt to comprehend as to how Noire was able to find herself occupied by the subject.

"You wanna check out that stand, Noire?" I look at Noire, who turns back to me with a confident nod, walking up to the girl managing the booth. Her appearance was screaming "green!": she was dressed in quite a fancy design of clothing; an attire that you would find in a catholic school, except with the color scheme of light greens, yellow and white. She has her blonde hair, that fell down just about to her waist, tied up in a pair of green ribbons, complimenting her ocean blue eyes that sparkled as she watched us approach the booth.

"Are you three interested in the Extradimensional Dispersion club?" She happily advertises her club to us.

"Y-yes, if you don't mind us having a sneak peek as to what this club is about." I hear Noire speak up, her fingers fumbling in her hands as she speaks.

"Of course I don't mind!" She then claps her hands together with a smile before continuing. "In this club, we will be introduced to the research of if there really _are_ extra dimensions, or if we are the only dimension in Earth! Although, I'm not supposed to tell anyone, I've found out about someone spreading rumors about a discovered dimension called 'Gamindustri'-" It was at that moment when Noire let out a gasp, Uni as well but less obvious.

"D-did you just say Gamindustri?" She slams her hands on the table, making the poor girl step back anxiously.

"Y-yes, I did mention Gamindustri. Why are you asking?"

"Hiroshi, Uni," She looks between the two of us and the blondie. "We're joining this club."

"We are!?" Uni and I exclaim in unison, making nearby people give us awkward stares.

"Yes. It is essential that the three of us are to join the Extradimensional Dispersion club!"

"U-Um…" the girl in front of us looks between the three of us before handing us three slips of paper, debating whether she regretted giving the slip of recognition that we had joined the club. "W-welcome to the Extradimensional Dispersion club!"

"Thank you so much!" Noire's eyes flash with joy as she smiles and holds out her hand. "I'm Noire. This is my sister, Uni, and my… f-friend, Hiroshi." Noire awkwardly introduces the two of us to the girl, who introduces herself in response.

"I'm Vii! The pleasure is mine." She does a little courtesy in front of us and exits her booth to shake her hand with the three of us. "Would you three like to follow me?"

"Don't you need to monitor your booth? It doesn't look like anyone but you is there to advertise the club." I speak up, making Vii look at me with a smile.

"Don't worry about it! You three should be the only ones joining anyway." Leaving questions in my head to pester her with, I decide to keep silent as she directs us to follow her to the club room.

As we approach the room, the appearance of the outside of the room didn't seem too fishy, only a sign attached to the door was visible, reading, "Welcome to the Extradimensional Dispersion Club Room!" Watching as Vii knocks onto the door thrice, a small creek of the door sounds, opening up and revealing a somewhat small room.

Taking a step into the room, I take a brief glance around the room. A set of tables that had been pushed together had built a larger table which provided enough seats for us to sit on. Lined around the walls were posters of graphs, charts and research theories in very disorganized fashion, making me shudder as I felt my OCD perk up. Hearing something shift to our right, the three of us catch the noise and turn to the source of the sound.

The one who had made the noise was a woman with long, purple braids and messy bangs, two clips in the form of D-pads were in her hair as well, dressed in a black, business suit.

Just as I was about to speak up, Noire intervenes before me, her voice expressing emotions of confusion and unexpectancy.

"NEPTUNE!? WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE!?"

* * *

 **Hey, everyone! Is it just me, or is anyone else surprised about Neptune's appearance. Especially in her HDD form!? Like _what_!? Sorry for the update...after nearly a month of waiting. Spring break is here for me, meaning one week to focus on the progression of this story! I _should_ have enough plot to supply a month or two of content if everything goes according to plan.**

 **How was the plot twist at the end? Did ya expect Neptune to make an appearance within the plot? I mean, she _did_ say earlier, during one of those early chapters, that she was going to make another appearance sooner or later, but in her HDD form was a little surprising. At least it'll provide new ideas and motivation to continue the story!**

 **Thank you nonetheless for continuing to support me even though I'm not able to post as consistently as I would like to be! Have an _amazing_ day! :)**


	14. Chapter 14

**•[•]•[•] Noire [•]•[•]•**

"NEPTUNE!?" I exclaim, catching the woman off guard. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE!?" Staring at the astonishing sight before me, a billion questions fly through my head. _Why is Neptune here? Why is she in her HDD form? Wasn't she killed by Arfoire? What happened to the other girls? Who is this 'Vii' girl? Is she here to kill me?_

"Allow me to explain, Noire." Neptune pushes herself off of the wall that she had been leaning against before continuing. "I'm here because of a malfunction in the Gamindustrian systems. Generally, when you die, you're revived into the basilicom, correct? Well instead of reviving in the basilicom, I found myself in this dimension, supposedly called 'Earth'. If my hypothesis is correct, then the other girls should be scattered around this dimension, and if we're lucky enough, they should be in this high school as well. Now as to answer your question of why I'm in my HDD form, I have a few ideas: once I had died, Arfoire had cast a spell on me and transferred me to this dimension, separating me from my human form. With the possibility of that happening, that reveals a few other possibilities. One, being that my poor, human form had been separated from me and left behind in the Hyperdimension while I'm here on Earth, or she's here and just somewhere else."

Taking a few moments to let the information sink in, I put a hand on my chin and give a small nod.

"Okay… I think I understand the whole spiel, but I have an answer to your last question. I'm sorry in advance, Hiroshi, but I kept this a secret from you until I had found the right time to tell you," I say, getting a raised eyebrow out of Hiroshi. "A few days ago, I had been writing in my journal about my report of the day when I had received a letter from Neptune… or your human form, Neptune. She had gone about her usual banter of whatever 'breaking the fourth wall' is so I hadn't bothered to care for the rest of the letter, but there was another letter on the other side of the page that had caught my attention. I have it right here, as a matter of fact. If you don't mind me reading it, I will go ahead and proceed to read it." I don't wait for anyone to respond to my comment for I had already proceeded to pull out the letter and read it.

* * *

 _Dear fellow CPUs,_

 _Just as a disclaimer, I have already sent out letters to the other CPUs, informing them about your situations as far as being… cast into another dimension. All of this being according to my plan, I've made some of my own moves as far as controlling things back in Gamindustri! Lucky for you, I was kind enough to continue to have each of your nations completely in tact, as well as each of your share levels to be maintained at a constant rate!_

 _As you have probably figured out, you've all gotten letters from each other via a random notebook that you've suddenly begun to write in, recording your daily history of the past few weeks, correct? Let us call this process "Extradimensional Dispersion". You all are still connected ever-so-slightly by your memories of each other, hence the reason why you've acquired letters from each other. Overtime, you will also be able to regain some of your abilities, so once you_ do _acquire your powers once again, use them wisely in order to help you escape the dimension that you have been trapped within._

 _With that being said, I won't interfere with any of your events that you have partaken in so far, so with that said, I will end my letter here before I reveal_ too _much information._

 _Let us partake in conversation once again!_

* * *

"I believe that I have also received a letter saying the exact same thing." Neptune holds a sheet of folded, notebook paper up to me in which I take and begin to examine.

"Yeah. This looks just about the same as mine." I hand back the letter to Neptune, who folds it up and slips it back into her pocket.

"So do you understand the reason as to why this club is named the way that it was?" Giving her a nod of acknowledgement, I take a seat in the room, the rest of the group choosing seats that had been placed around the table.

"We're here to investigate whether we are actually able to travel back to Gamindustri to take back our land and powers, correct?" Uni speaks up, the rest of us turning to her. "I mean, this is our first step to finding a way back to Gamindustri, hence the correlation between the name of our club and the subject relayed through the letters you got." We all nod while Hiroshi just awkwardly glances between Neptune, Uni and I as we converse about the subject at hand.

"So what does Vii have to do with any of this? Is she a CPU or something? If we all are here to contribute to the return to Gamindustri, then we should all have a purpose for being here, right?" Hiroshi speaks up, all of us turning to Vii.

"Wh-who me?" Vii points to herself, blinking a couple of times as we all nod at her, waiting for her to continue. "I'm here because I got a letter from the Leanboxian CPU, Vert. She told me about a dream that she had, acknowledging that I had become her little sister, claiming that she originally didn't have a little sister, just like the other CPUs." She gives Neptune and myself a nod, in which I glance over to Uni.

"Did you also get a letter from Unknown?" Neptune speaks up and Vii nods, holding up a piece of paper in her hand.

"Yes. The letter spoke about the same procedure that your letters had talked about, but instead of our Extradimensional Dispersion being directed to other CPUs, it was directed toward the other CPU Candidates, supposedly named Uni, Nepgear, Rom and Ram. Although, I've already met you, Uni." She turns to Uni and gives her a smile, who in return smiles back. "My purpose here is to find meet the other Sister CPUs so that we can successfully travel to Gamindustri."

* * *

 **•[•]•[•] Hiroshi [•]•[•]•**

"Well, that concludes our discussion of the first day of the Extradimensional Dispersion club! Thanks for attending our first meeting! We will be meeting everyday after school so you'll be staying here for a required hour before you are allowed to leave for the day." Neptune hands us all a slip of paper, regarding general notes of the club's activities.

"Sounds fine with me." I take a quick glance at the informational sheet that I had just received. "Though, it's not like I have a choice to come or not." I glance at Noire, who has herself occupied with the paper.

Uni then stands up from her chair, slipping her paper into her binder before putting on her backpack. "Hey, I'm going to head home before Masaki gets worried about my absence." She dismisses herself, leaving Vii, Noire, Neptune and I left in the room.

"Neptune," I speak up, making Neptune look up at me. "Now that I think about it, where do you even live? If my hypothesis is correct, you don't have a home unless you've already been accepted into a household."

"Oh, thanks for bringing up that topic." The the other two girls look at Neptune, who then continues. "I've taken hospitality at the headmaster's' residence at the moment. She's been very gracious in accepting my coming so she doesn't mind whether I stay or if I am able to find another place to stay. I must admit, her household is quite the luxurious place to live in."

"I wonder if she can compete with Hiroshi's property in terms of luxury." Noire speaks up, making me let out a sigh.

"That isn't something to brag about, you know." I keep the terms vague, making Neptune raise an eyebrow.

"O-oh. Right. Sorry for mentioning it." Noire rests her cheek on her arms, which are crossed and resting on the table before her. Thankfully Neptune didn't continue on the subject, for she had begun to slip all of her supplies into a violet bag that had the emblem of a company brand.

"Well, it's best if the three of you be headed off now. You don't wanna stay _too_ late or your parents will start to get worried." Neptune gives the three of us a smile and a wave before slipping out of the door without hearing the click of her high heels as she had exited the room.

"Noire, would you like to head out now?" I look at Noire, who still has her cheek nuzzled against her arm.

"Sure we can go home now." She begins to stand up before turning back to Vii, who stands up as well, a smile directed towards the two of us.

"I believe we should follow Ms. Neptune's advice; it wouldn't do us any good if we were to linger here any longer." Vii speaks up, the two of us nodding in return.

"Have a good day, Vii." Noire and I give her a wave as she returns the gesture before heading out of the room.

The two of us fall back into silence as soon as Vii leaves, Noire relaxing into her arm again and myself leaning back into the chair that I had found myself comfortable in. A window had been left open, due to the timing of year being amongst early fall, allowing for the curtains to sway along with the rhythm that the wind had gently produced. Turning to look at Noire, I find her beginning to breath heavier.

 _She can pretty much fall asleep anywhere she finds herself comfortable, huh?_ I think to myself, smiling as I watch Noire peacefully sleeping in the relaxing, autumn breeze. Checking my watch, I find that it was nearly 18:00. _Let's hope Noire doesn't kill me if she finds out that I'm going to carry her home._ I let out a small sigh before getting up from my chair, making my way over to Noire.

Bending down to pick up Noire, I hear her mumble something gibberish, her face suddenly flushing red. Smiling to myself, I gently pick up Noire, feeling how incredibly light Noire is. Deciding to carry her bridal-style, I sling our bags over my shoulders, using my upper and lower arm to carry Noire.

As I begin to make my way out of the door, a sudden gust of wind decides to blow through the area, sending shivers throughout my whole body. Noire lets out a small groan before she curls up in my arms and nuzzles her body against my chest, making me blush. Letting out a relieved sigh because she hadn't woken up yet, I begin to make my journey home, enjoying the sunset as it casts itself across the autumn sky, illuminating the clouds a purplish-red hue.

* * *

 **~Author's Note!~**

 **Hey, everyone! Some interesting plot happening, eh? Ended up learning a bit more about the situation as far as the Extradimensional Dispersion club goes. Poor Hiroshi, he doesn't know anything that is going on... Although, I promise that there will be some Hiroshi x Noire moments within the next chapter! (You already got a snippet of them on their trip home ;3).**

 **Before you all run away, I have an announcement to make! It's in the form of a poll, so make sure you check out my profile to submit your personal review on the subject via poll!**

 **Nonetheless, if you enjoyed the chapter, or the whole story so far, leave a follow/fav/follow! (It means the world to me :D)!** **Thank you all for being such amazingly, awesome fans and have a spectacular day/night! :)**


	15. Chapter 15

**•[•]•[•] Noire [•]•[•]•**

Opening my eyes, I find myself staring at my bedroom ceiling. _Did that idiot bring me home?_ I think to myself, various scenarios zooming around and through my head, making my face burn red.

"HIROSHI!?" I shout, sitting up and venting my frustration and embarrassment towards the man who had most likely occupied himself downstairs to make tonight's dinner. Hearing the hurried footsteps climb the stairs, his face appears in the doorframe, a worried look on his face as he waits for a response. "How did I get home?"

"I carried you home." He blatantly states, letting out a somewhat relieved sigh as he does so.

"Y-you _what_!?" I shout, my face feeling as if it were the Sun.

"I carried you home." He restates, taking a step into the room. "Don't worry, I didn't do anything to you if that's what you're trying to get at."

Letting out a sigh, I release the tension building up within my body and put a hand on my chest. "You're lucky that I didn't wake up in the midst of you carrying my home."

"You would've ripped me to shreds if you found me carrying you." The two of us let out a small chuckle before falling into an awkward silence.

"S-so what's for dinner?" I speak up, Hiroshi tapping a rhythm on his leg.

"Gyudon." He responds, receiving a nod out of me. "It'll be ready within the next fifteen minutes, so you can occupy yourself with something or you can help me prepare dinner. Your choice."

"I guess I can help you since I don't really have anything else to do." I get up, stretching my arms behind my back as I do so. Walking out of the room, I begin to make my way down to the kitchen, leaving Hiroshi back in the bedroom.

Wearing his footsteps sound behind me and down the stairs, I slip on an apron before preparing the assortment of ingredients that were necessary for producing our meal. Glancing over to my left, I find Hiroshi pulling out and refining a few utensils, opening a package of beef as he does so.

"Before we indulge into the topic that you'd like to address within this conversation," Hiroshi had begun to prep the meat as he spoke up, making me look up at him as I had begun to peel an onion. "Why were you so eager to join the Extradimensional Dispersion club? I mean, I know that you'd already mentioned the fact that it was mentioned via the letter you had received in your notebook, but it doesn't really exemplify your enthusiasm towards the club."

"Putting it in a way that you would feel equally engaged, think of it as you reuniting with your parents after all of these years. It's sort of something like that." I then turn back to my onion, beginning to chop the vegetable into slices. "If, that is, you long for the reunion between your parents and yourself."

"I guess it makes sense. You _were_ , after all, the former ruler of Lastation." He responds, making me stop mid-cut.

"I still _am_ the CPU of Lastation. There was never a time where I _wasn't_ doing my job as the CPU, you hear me?" I forcefully cut through the rest of the onion, a few bits being pushed off of the cutting board.

"Okay, I'm sorry for saying that. I was being insensitive." Hiroshi immediately apologizes, a wave of guilt rushing through my body.

"N-no don't be. _I'm_ sorry for blurting that out for no good reason." I stare at the knife which lay in the pile of cut onion, examining the reflection of the sink that had been illuminated through the metal. The two of us fall into silence, busying ourselves with the process of making our dinner.

 **...**

"Hey, Noire." I look at Hiroshi, who had addressed my name.

"What's up, Hiroshi?" I respond, stacking the plates on the dining table, which had used to contain our dinner, and carrying them to the sink where we had begun our cleaning routine.

"I have something to show you after we're finished, if you don't mind." He speaks up, making me raise an eyebrow in expectancy.

"And what is that 'something'?" I handed a plate to Hiroshi, who begins to scrub the plate with a sponge.

"That's for you to see once we actually get to the destination." He grins, leaving me to pout at him.

"No fair! Give me a hint!"

"I already did." I let out a groan and the two of us continue to wash the dishes.

The process of us cleaning went faster than usual, most likely due to the fact that I had become so eager to find out what Hiroshi's secret was. As I had finished drying the last dish and placing it into it's designated shelf, Hiroshi had wandered over to the shoe rack, slipping on a pair of sandals. By the time I had exited the house, I had found Hiroshi on the porch, staring out at the dusk sky.

"When's your favorite time of the day, Noire?" Hiroshi speaks up, turning to me as he does so.

Shrugging, I stare up at the purple-ish blue haze that had been illuminated across the sky. "I personally enjoy being out in the night. It's where I can relax and let all of my thoughts roam outside of my head."

"Then I think you'll enjoy this place." Hiroshi then slips his hands into his pocket, stepping down the porch steps and curving around behind the house. Following Hiroshi, we come across a dirt pathway, made present by the gap in the middle of the wooden fencing that had enclosed the backyard. Walking onto the pathway, I hasten my pace and walk with Hiroshi so that we were walking side-by-side.

"What's so special about this place?" I look up at Hiroshi, his blue eyes practically glowing as he smiles.

"It fits perfectly with your description of why you enjoy being out at night; you'll see what I mean." He responds as we begin to venture into a small part of the woods, the dirt path still visible enough for us to follow the trail. After what seemed like a few minutes of walking, I suddenly felt a rush of satisfaction pulse throughout my body, along with the scent of… the ocean?

"Is this what you're talking about?" I let out a sigh, feeling all of the tension begin to alleviate within my body.

"Yeah." It was at that moment, Hiroshi stopped, and I had turned my attention to the sight in front of me.

In front of us was a magnificent sight, nearly incomprehensible; it was beautiful. We were greeted by the subtle crash of the oceanic waves, the landscape of Ksugakari crumbling away into the vast ocean almost thirty feet in front of us. Just before the cliff's edge was a small campfire, accompanied by a few benches surrounding it, allowing for there to be a lounging area. To the left of the campfire was a small shed, where a small light was illuminated through the windows of the building. It looked as if it were a one-person shed, for it didn't take up too much space on the small, open area.

Gasping with admiration, I smile before walking around the area, getting a good look at the scenery before me. Since we were on the edge of the land of Ksugakari, there were no city lights to distort the sight of the night sky, allowing for the clouds to reveal a vast arrangement of stars that were scattered amongst each other, leaving me to stare in awe.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Hiroshi sits himself on one of the benches, his arms resting on top of the bench.

"Yes, it leaves me speechless, being able to experience something as breathtaking as this." I wander over to the edge of the cliff, peering over the edge to find myself staring at the waves as they greet me by splashing against the base of the cliff.

"I come here whenever I'm in the mood to go stargazing or if I'm stressed about something. The scent of the ocean, the beautiful scenery portrayed before us, everything about this place is so calming and relieving, don't you think?" I nod in agreement, walking over to Hiroshi and sitting on the bench that he was sitting on.

"How often do you come here?"

"Not very often." He blatantly states.

"Why's that?"

"If I were to come here so often, it would deteriorate the value of such a beautiful creation that has been gifted to me." I stare up at the constellations before me in the night sky, watching as they sparkle and dance throughout the sky.

"Why did you choose to show this to me? Wouldn't you show this to someone whom you've known much longer than me?" I look at Hiroshi, receiving a small smile from him.

"Quality is better than quantity." Is all he states.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I say, getting a shrug out of him.

"I don't know. You figure it out." He grins and I huff, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Whatever!" I then start to feel myself yawn.

"Are you tired?" He shifts on the bench so that he's closer to me, making me turn my head away from him.

"N-no, I was just taking in a deep breath is all!" I retort.

"Good one." He doesn't take my fluke, only to place a hand on my head and begin to rub it.

"Wh-wh-what do you think you're doing!?" I immediately pull away from Hiroshi.

"Nothing." He stands up and begins to make his way over to the shed. "If you're tired, you can sleep here in the shed for the night."

"A-all by myself..?" I barely let out a mumble, making Hiroshi tilt his head in confusion.

"Sorry, I didn't catch that last part. Can you repeat it again?"

"A-are you leaving me alone here for the night?" I stammer, my face burning hotter than the sun.

"Would you like me to leave yo-"

"No!" I practically shout, catching Hiroshi off guard. Lowering my voice in embarrassment, I continue. "I-I mean, I don't want you to leave me. Can you stay with me for the night?"

"Of course, Noire." I let out a sigh of relief and begin to make my way over to the shed.

Entering the shed, I find myself staring at quite the comfortable setting. Before me laid a bed that was large enough for one person, a carpet in the center of the room, and a desk with a couple of notebooks laid on top.

"Quite the simplistic setup we've got here." I state the obvious, Hiroshi letting out a laugh.

"This place isn't meant for complexity, now is it?" He refutes.

"You're right. This is a place of serenity and tranquility." I take a seat on the edge of the bed, staring out of the one window that had revealed the scenery of the night sky.

Hiroshi begins to sit himself on the carpet, adjusting his body into various positions to find a comfortable position.

"What do you think you're doing?" I look down at Hiroshi, who then turns and looks up at me.

"Trying to find a good sleeping position. Why do you ask?"

"I ask because you look absolutely ridiculous." I let out a giggle.

"Is this something to be laughing at?" Hiroshi sits up and stares up at me.

"N-no, of course not!" I then, unintentionally(?) pat a seat next to myself. Not realizing that I had invited Hiroshi to get closer to me, I watch as he approaches me and sits on the edge of the bed, making the mattress bounce slightly.

"Then why were you laughing?" I let out a small huff and stare at the floor, my hands pressed up against my thighs with frustration.

"Do you _really_ need to refute _all_ of my comments!?" I glare at him, watching as he leans back into the bedsheets with a smile.

"Not necessarily." He looks over at me, the smile still plastered upon his face. "It's just fun to see your reactions."

"Wha-!?" I turn my body towards Hiroshi and I raise up a fist in threat to punch him. Realizing that I had ruined the atmosphere of the situation, I let out a sigh and lower my fist, receiving a relieved sigh from him.

"We'd better get some rest, shall we? It's already ten." Hiroshi speaks up, making me glance at a small clock that had managed to hide itself from myself up until this moment, revealing the time.

"You're right, I wouldn't function very well without getting a good night's sleep." I acknowledge Hiroshi's comment, shifting in position to lie down on the bed, leaving him to sit on the edge of the bed. Feeling the mattress raise, I look over at Hiroshi to find him getting up from the bed. Quickly reaching my arm out, I grab onto his wrist, holding Hiroshi before he could wander back to the floor. Watching as he turns back to me with a questioned look, he sits back down on the bed.

"What is it, Noire?"

"C-can you sleep with me for tonight? Just to ch-change things… up a bit..?" I stammer, my face burning red as my grip tightens on Hiroshi's wrist, making me stare at the wooden walls that encased the two of us.

"What's up with this? You've been wanting to have my attention lately." Despite his response, he lies down next to me, making me quickly let go of his wrist and turn towards the wall, avoiding eye contact with Hiroshi.

"N-nothing! I…" I try to make up an excuse, but I just feel my face growing hotter by the second. "I'm just cold is all! You don't need to worry about me though, I have the blanket." I huff and bury myself under the blanket, only to feel a pair of arms wrap around me.

"You don't seem cold to me." Hiroshi's warmth flows through me, making me curl up into what felt like a small ball, still contained within his arms.

"Sh-shut up… idiot! I'm tired." I pout at Hiroshi, glaring at the wall in front of me.

"So you're not going to deny my physical attention towards you?" He mumbles behind me, barely audible for me to hear.

"Would you like me to deny it? Because I will if you'd like me to." I retort, receiving a chuckle from Hiroshi.

"Forget I said anything." He then hugs me closer to him, so close that I could feel his warm breath tickle the back of my neck. "Let's get some sleep, shall we?"

"That would be the best option for the both of us." I acknowledge his statement, pressing my head against his chest with a small smile, whilst ignoring the burning sensation rising upon my cheeks, before closing my eyes.

"Goodnight, Hiroshi."

"Goodnight, Noire."

* * *

 **~Author's Note!~**

 **Guess what came out today?**

 **"What?"**

 **Well I'm glad you asked! (You probably didn't even respond, did you?) A Collection of Lustful Wonders has made its arrival! This is, and I warn all of you underage readers, a rated M fanfiction, due to its inclusion of erotica! Okay, I've probably lured half of you into the depths of the dark world, haven't I. Nonetheless, for all of you who voted on the poll (and for all who have been seeking these types of books), here you go! It has finally arrived! The first chapter correlates with this chapter that you have just read, but it's merely an extension of this chapter.**

 **Nonetheless, I hope those of you who are interested will check out my oneshots involving the CPUs and CPU Candidates, and have an amazing day! :D**


	16. Chapter 16

**•[•]•[•] Hiroshi [•]•[•]•**

Waking up, I find myself in quite the interesting position to wake up into. Noire had entwined her legs with mine, one of my legs were resting in between hers, one of hers in between mine. One of my hands had managed to find itself entangled within Noire's hair while the other had been resting against her back. Looking down, I find Noire burying her face into my chest, her small arms clutching onto my shirt like a little child that had been frightened by a thunderstorm.

With a small smile, I gently rub her back, hearing her let out a small purr as I do so. _Oh so she's a cat now_. I think to myself as I imagine Noire wearing a pair of fake cat ears, silently chuckling to myself. Slipping my hand out of her hair, I notice that her twin tails had come undone as I had removed my hand. As soon as I had removed my arm from my original position, Noire lets out a groan before cracking her eyes open, finding herself staring at my chest.

"Wh-what the hell!?" She shouts, her eyes widening as she does so, pushing herself away from me and sitting up. "Why were you... h-holding me!?" Her face burns red as she stammers, clutching her fist as she held it to her chest as if savoring the last bits of her innocence (in which she still has some left, I assure you all).

"You're the one who wanted to sleep with me last night, fully aware that there was only one bed to share between the two of us." I refute, receiving a pout from the noirette.

"S-so!? Never did I ever mention that you could use my body as a hug pillow!" She crosses her arms over her chest with a growl as she glares at me.

"But when I awoke you were clutching onto my shirt and you had your face nuzzled into my chest." I swing my legs off of the edge of the bed, sitting up as I do so. "Before you make another tsundere remark, we don't exactly have time to continue with our banter."

"What do you mean? I'm not a tsundere!" I hear Noire begin to pout from behind me as I get up from the bed.

"We're not in summer break anymore, so we need to get ready for school." Pointing to the clock, which read "6:24", I open the door and turn back to Noire. "Would you like me to wait for you or can I go ahead and get ready?"

"I'm not going to take _that_ long to catch up with you." She gets out of bed, hurriedly brushing her hair with her fingers, quickly grabbing her ribbons as she follows me outside of the shed.

As we make our way out of the shed, Noire lets out a gasp, turning towards the scenery that was presented before us by Mother Nature. We were greeted by an amazingly pinkish-red sunrise that had given the sky a nearly artificial atmosphere to it, for I have never seen such a color that had been cast across the clouds before. It was as if we had been staring at a painting that was replicated in real life.

"I-I don't mean to ruin this moment, but we'd best hurry back before it gets too late for us to have the proper time to get ready." Noire interrupts the blissful atmosphere, making me snap out of my awe of the scenery before us.

"Y-you're right. This place is just a place where whenever I leave, I want to take another day to stare at its magnificence." I let out a sigh before turning away from the captivating sight with disappointment.

 **...**

"Welcome back to the Extradimensional Dispersion club!" Neptune claps her hands, signaling for the rest of us to take our seats in the clubroom. "And congratulations on becoming the school's new OTP, Hiroshi and Noire."

Today we had breezed past the day without any exciting moments except for during one of our passing periods, where Noire had accidentally walked into one of the other classrooms on accident, gaining a few blushes as she hurries out of the classroom with a furious blush rising upon her cheeks and into my arms, where I received a few glares from our nearby classmates. Neptune gives us a wink, leaving Noire to refute her comment.

"H-hey! I never agreed to this being a thing, you know!" Noire slams a fist onto the table, causing everything on top of it to bounce a little bit.

"Well it's your fault for running straight into my arms, teary-eyed and all!" I counter Noire's complaint, Uni letting out a sigh of disappointment.

"I don't mean to be rude, but you two are acting like you've just gotten out of preschool."

"And we're technically still in class, you know." Vii supports Uni's comment, making me and Noire fall silent.

"As I was _saying_ ," Neptune interjects our verbal war with a clear of her throat before continuing. "We all need to prepare for the return back to Gamindustri because we don't know a clue as to how we are able to recollect our group of fellow CPUs and CPU Candidates in order to take back our land and world. As far as I know, Histoire is the only person that I know of that can exemplify any cross-dimensional actions, so we most likely won't be able to have a chance at returning without her support." Raising a hand, I interrupt Neptune, who acknowledges my request to speak.

"Who exactly _is_ Histoire? I know that you, Noire, Uni and possibly Vii know her, but a human here on Earth, like me, doesn't have a clue as to who you are talking about."

"Histoire is one of the Oracles that supports the CPUs to help maintain their designated nation. She helps the CPU of Planeptune, myself in my human form, maintain her financial and socio-political status… or I should say, she does _all_ of the work, for my human self is the laziest of the four CPUs, merely gorging upon endless amounts pudding and gaming without a care for the maintenance of her own nation." Neptune's face displays a look of disappointment, even though she's insulting herself… indirectly, if you could even say that. "Nonetheless, having to bear with Neptune's laziness, Histoire has been able to gain and acquire an essential skill has been able to save our lives countless times. If we are lucky enough, we'll hopefully gain contact with her in order to help us return to Gamindustri."

Noire clears her throat and looks at the rest of us. "I might have something that will give us a clue as to what we could be capable of doing ourselves." She then presses her hand against her chest, a small glow shining behind the palm of her hand. The four of us watch as Noire begins to pull the Share Crystal that she had shown me earlier out of her chest, revealing it to the rest of the club. "I was successful in the process of transforming into my HDD form, my witness being Hiroshi, as well as being able to gain access to my inventory and credits from Gamindustri." She reaches out in front of her, a second later there was what looked like a vial that contained bright red liquid that was labeled "HP potion".

"Wh-what is this?" Neptune looked astonished by the sight before her, Uni and Vii also raising their eyebrows with curiosity.

"I believe that I was able to access my inventory after my first read-through of the letter that 'Unknown' had relayed to us." Noire explains the process to the rest of the girls, leaving me to watch in total oblivion as to what was happening before my eyes. Watching as they seem to reveal their inventories to themselves, they each pull out an item as proof that they had successfully gained access to their inventory. Neptune had pulled out a scroll that was filled with etchings that I didn't recognize, Uni had pulled out a scope that looked as if it were to attach to a sniper rifle, and Vii was able to pull out a green macaroon (a french dessert), taking a bite out of it as she does so.

Neptune speaks up, her curiosity still not satisfied as she acknowledges the Share Crystal in Noire's palm. "How on Gamindustri's gracious lands did you manage to find a Share Crystal?"

"I found it in my breast pocket after Hiroshi and I had come back from Imayoshi. But something had happened during our trip when the two of us had separated. Someone had decided to attempt to kidnap me because they dragged me into an alleyway and tried to suffocate me." Vii raised an eyebrow at Noire's last comment.

"I think I had received a text from an unknown sender after Noire and I had come back from the hot springs. It talked about something along the lines of reclaiming the territory of Gamindustri or something like that." I speak up, gaining the attention of the girls within the room. "It was soon after that when I saw a glow in Noire's breast pocket; I didn't want to accidentally do something perverted to her so I decided to leave it where it was."

"Wow, I think that this is the first time that you've ever done something smart for once! I applaud!" Noire sarcastically claps, receiving a glare from myself.

"I've done plenty of smart things that you don't even know about, okay?" I refute, a cough interrupting the start of another verbal battle between the two of us.

"Well, I guess that allows for everyone to have at least _some_ acknowledgement within this whole scenario." Uni speaks up, receiving a nod out of the rest of us. "This might be a possibility to help us get in contact with Histy, but if we are able to find Nepgear, we could use her N-Gear in order to contact Histy."

"That's a start!" Neptune smiles and Uni just blushes. "Does anyone else have any ideas?"

"Wouldn't it be logical to look through the class lists in order to find out what classes they are in?" I speak up, receiving a nod from Neptune.

"That would be wise. If we could all take home a few lists and review them, we could probably find out if any of the other CPUs and Candidates are within the proximity of Ksugakari High. How many accept this plan of action?" The majority, or I should say all, of the members of the Extradimensional Dispersion Club had raised their hand in acknowledgement of the plan being executed.

"Well I guess that settles things!" Uni places her hands on the table, pushing herself off of her chair. "Let's get those class lists so that we can find the girls!"

Just as Uni begins to turn to exit the room, Neptune holds up a hand. "Before you start running off in search for the papers, I'm the only one who can access the Faculty room."

"So can I come with you?" Uni looks at Neptune, who shakes her head.

"I think that Hiroshi should be the one to come with me because he thought of the idea in the first place." She then glances over at me with a quick wink. "Would you like to come with me, Hiroshi?"

"S-sure, if it's alright with you." I get out my chair, looking at Uni with an apologetic look, mouthing the word "Sorry" to her.

"I was the one who asked you to come with me, so of course it's fine with me." Neptune makes her way out of the room, waving a hand as a signal to follow her.

Walking down the hallway, Neptune turns to me, noticing that I had been staring at her. "Is there something that you'd like to say to me?"

"Did you invite me to come with you to the faculty room just to come or is there something else that you brought me here for?" I speak up, the two of us turning a corner and heading down another hallway.

"Was it too obvious?" She glances back at me, an anxious look was cast upon her face.

"I think it was just me who noticed your subtle hint." I give her a reassuring smile, receiving a sigh from the club manager.

"Either way it wouldn't necessarily matter." The two of us find ourselves in front of the door that lead to the faculty office.

Entering the room, the two of us are welcomed by a soft breeze that had been let in through an open window. The curtains swayed along with the rhythm that had been set by the wind. Taking a glance around the room, there were no teachers that were busying themselves within the office, leaving Neptune and I to be amongst ourselves. Sliding the door closed behind the two of us, Neptune had made her way over to a shelf full of binders, selecting a few, blue binders and placing them into her arms.

"Would you like some help carrying them back to the classroom?" I offer to help Neptune carry the growing stack of binders. Neptune gratefully taking the help, she places a stack in my arms, collecting a few more binders.

"Before we leave, Hiroshi," Neptune calls out to me as I make my way over to the exit. "I have something to show you, hence the reason why I brought you and nobody else here." She beckons for me to come back to her.

Walking over to her, Neptune sets down the stack of binders and motions her arms to open up her inventory, the gesture being the only way that I could recognize her actions for I'm unable to see the inventory displayed in front of Neptune. Watching as she seems to drag an item into her hand, a small scroll appears, gold etchings lining the linen-sewn cloth that held the writing. Unraveling the scroll, Neptune turns to show me the scroll, it surprisingly being written in a language that I was familiar with.

 _Dear Neptune,_

 _Have you made the club yet? I've been waiting for a while now, with summer break occurring and all! Apparently, we've split up and I'm now living with someone who goes by the name of "Kagumi Kobayashi". He works at a ramen house called 'The Orchid' and works with a guy named "Hiroshi Fujita". Now why am I bringing this up? Supposedly, he had claimed that Hiroshi, his coworker, had brought a friend with him, a girl who goes by the name of 'Noire'. We both know who that lovable tsundere is, right? It would be awesome to see if she actually is here, because the last thing that I remember about her was a bright light that had been cast, along with the words "Bring me back to reality" or something like that before ending up in Earth. I remember Kei talking about some sort of potion that the effect that it had on the user was a teleportation device that lead to a designated location in a different dimension. Before I ramble too much and waste all of this precious paper that I had found in my inventory, I'll get straight to the point. I would like to meet up with Noire and Hiroshi on Saturday at the Orchid around noon so we can chat things up. I hope you're able to get this message to Noire, and possibly Hiroshi, personally so that they can understand the situation a bit. Thanks a bunch, sexy version of me!_

 _-Nep the main protagonist!_

* * *

 **Author's Note!~**

 **Hey, everyone! This will probably be the last Author's Note that I'll have for now, mainly because I would like to preserve them for major updates and events that occur within the story! With that being said... quite the plot developing ending, don't you think? What do you think will happen next? Will the Extradimensional Dispersion club be successful at finding the scattered Gamindustrian Girls?**

 **If you find any flaws with my writing, reiteration of a character's personality or plot development, feel free to PM me or write a Review! I will take all of the suggestions/criticism as long as they are constructive and helpful! Thanks for continuing to support this fanfiction and have an amazing day! :)**


	17. Chapter 17

**•[•]•[•] Noire [•]•[•]•**

 _What is it going to be like, meeting Neptune?_ The same question had been bouncing around frantically within my head. We had just entered the mall that lead to the Orchid, each step of the way causing my heart to beat faster and faster. _Is she going to act the same way that she did back in Gamindustri? Will she be different? If so, will I like her? Will I hate her?_ Whilst I'm able to maintain a moderately normal expression upon my face, my heart is racing and my head is aching. To be honest with you, Neptune is the only person whom I have been looking forward to seeing out of my friends back in Gamindustri. Even though she's a loud, lazy, fourth-wall-breaking idiot, I still enjoy being amongst her presence.

Hiroshi glance behind him and stares at me, as if observing my actions, before letting out a sigh. "Neptune must mean a lot to you, Noire." Is all he says before turning his attention back in front of him. All that I could do was nod, even though Hiroshi wasn't able to see me. He thankfully doesn't urge for me to speak up, so the two of us just continue to make our way to the Orchid.

After what seemed like hours upon hours of walking, we finally find ourselves in front of the main entrance of the Orchid. There was a soft hum of noise that had been muffled by the walls encasing the customers. Taking a deep breath, I look up at Hiroshi, who takes a step forward, pulling open the door as he does so. Beckoning for me to enter first, I acknowledge his gesture, hurriedly entering the building.

Entering the Orchid, I immediately take a glance around the room, only finding customers whom I didn't recognize or know. Just as I was about to take a step beyond the waiting area, I feel a gentle hand rest upon my shoulder, making me stop.

"Have a seat and relax for a bit. I know you're nearly dying to see Neptune again, but it doesn't mean that you can lose self-control. I'll be back to get Kagumi." Hiroshi's touch relieves my stress, allowing for me to take a deep breath. Turning to thank him, I find that he had already made his way into the kitchen, the curtains swaying to relay that he had already gone.

Taking a seat in the entrance, I begin to tap a rhythm on my leg, waiting for any response from Neptune. Frequently glancing down at the clock that had appeared on the bottom left of my peripheral view, I begin to worry if Hiroshi is okay or not. Attempting to calm myself down with deep breaths, I was suddenly shoved forward by a force behind me. Letting out an abrupt yelp, receiving awkward glances from around me, I turn around to see who it was that decided to initiate such a disrespectful action.

Before me was a purplette, whom is wearing an oversized jacket that had various pinks, purples, and whites. Plastered upon her face was a massive grin, as well as a pair of shining, purple eyes that stared back at me with pure joy.

"N-N-NEPTUNE!?" I burst out, catching the customers within the waiting room off guard with my sudden exclamation.

"What's up, buddy ol' pal! I haven't seen you in _ages_! How's my tsundere-goddess doin'?" She immediately wraps her arm around my neck, pulling me towards her and into an embrace.

I feel my cheeks burn a bright red, find myself unable to speak clearly. "Wh-what are you… I'm not a… wha..?!" I ramble on into nonsense, Neptune merely letting out a laugh.

"I know, I know! You can't possibly _comprehend_ the amount of sorrow you have accumulated for this awesome, main protagonist! Right, author?" She proceeds to break the fourth wall, ruining the moment and snapping me back into reality.

"Sh-shut up, Neptune! I wasn't _that_ worried about missing you! I've been living with a wonderful man who goes by the name of H-"

"Hiroshi Fujita, correct? I know you've been living with him since his coworker, Kagumi, is taking care of me right now." Her attitude suddenly changes entirely, turning from happy and lively to serious and abnormal from her normal state. "He's an awesome guy and all, but there's something fishy about this situation."

"What do you mean? Besides the fact that we've been surrounded by an entirely new environment, and that we've been adapting to the society here in this dimension, there isn't really anything wrong with this situation." I refute, daring to hear Neptune's response.

"How did we suddenly receive the power to be able to turn into our HDD forms, gain access to our inventories, and conveniently write a letter to one another in hopes to find each other, in which we have been successful in doing so at the moment?" She does bring up a good point. Sure, we've been able to regain our lost powers, but what does that establish in the long run? Glancing around the room, the people waiting around in the entrance portrayed nothing different, either staring at the menu or busying themselves with something else. Just as I was about to speak up, Hiroshi emerges from the kitchen along with Kagumi, who gives the two of us a wave.

"Hey, you two! I'm glad to see you already getting close to each other!" Kagumi lets out a hearty laugh, approaching the two of us.

"W-we're not _that_ close with each other! She just decided to tackle me is all!" I stammer, still hazed by the sudden interaction between Neptune and myself.

"I don't think you're helping your case, Noire…" Hiroshi crushes my sugarcoated ramble, making my cheeks flush a deep red.

"At least you two get to see each other again." Kagumi intervenes, receiving a nod from myself. "Let's head inside and eat, shall we? We came here for lunch as well as discussion, right?" Without a word of complaint, the four of us make our way into the restaurant. The restaurant had established its casual, friendly atmosphere within the enclosed space, reminding me of my first visit to the Orchid, and second day on Earth.

 _I've changed quite a bit since coming here, haven't I?_ I think to myself, glancing around the somewhat empty restaurant as I let out a small sigh. _It feels good without having to constantly work on papers and sign documents. Although I have the luxury of slacking off, I can't necessarily do that once we return back to Gamindustri, can I?_ In my head, I continue to ramble on about the pros and cons of living within the hospitality of Hiroshi.

"...Earth to Noire! Earth to Noire!" I blink, turning to the source of the sound, turning to find myself facing a waving hand, Neptune's voice being the obnoxious voice that sounded behind the hand.

"What is it, Neptune?" I let out a small growl, Neptune letting out a sigh.

"We need to talk about our return to Gamindustri, remember?" She places her hands back onto her lap, looking me in the eye. "I've heard from Kagumi about this club at Ksugakari High called the 'Extradimensional Dispersion' club, right? Give me the goods about the situation, Noire."

"Alright, well you'd better listen up because I'm not repeating it!" I proceed to give Neptune a spiel of the ideas and theories that we had discussed through those past few days. Hiroshi had returned with our meals, catching on quickly and taking a seat without a word, the steaming bowls of ramen waiting for our empty stomachs to consume. As soon as Neptune had begun to space out, I'd kick her in the shins, receiving a yelp of acknowledgement that she had directed her focus to me. Fortunately, I had managed to finish the explanation of our progress within the club without giving too many kicks to Neptune's shin whom claimed that they were bruised by the end of it.

"To get a better understanding of the situation," Hiroshi was the first one to commentate after my explanation. "Gamindustri, by name and by description, is a world based on physics that are similar to a video game?"

Neptune nods in response. "And I'm the main protagonist in that story!"

"No you're not!" I sock Neptune in the shoulder, receiving the expected response of a grunt of pain. " _I'm_ actually the protagonist this time!"

"Wha-!? How could _you_ be the protagonist! You can't be _that_ entertaining, being a loner, tsundere CPU and all!" She refutes my statement, Hiroshi interrupting our banter with a slurp of his noodles.

"The food's going to get cold if you two are going to continue to fight like that." He says in between each spoonful of soup and noodles. "I'll probably end up eating your food for you too."

"No you won't!" I immediately give thanks before digging into my meal, a wave of pleasure washing over me as I begin to consume the bowl of ramen.

"Hey, Kagumi?" Neptune speaks up as Hiroshi clears the table of our emptied bowls and platters and heads over to the kitchen to clean. "I was wondering if I could go over to Noire's house for the night."

"I don't have a problem with that." Kagumi gives her a smile. "Just make sure that Hiroshi and Noire are okay with you going, okay?"

"Alright, thanks, Kagumi!" _Why does this seem like Kagumi and Neptune have established a father-daughter relationship?_ I think to myself, shaking my head and acknowledging Kagumi's cautionary response.

"That's fine! We have plenty of guest rooms at our place so she shouldn't have too much of a problem finding a place to sleep. Everything else as far as food and entertainment is covered as well, so there's nothing that we need to worry about." I give Kagumi a reassuring nod, who lets out a small, yet relieved sigh.

"Alright, well it's getting near the end of my break so I'll head back and let Hiroshi know about the situation. Take good care of Neptune, will you, Noire?" I nod in response, Kagumi giving the two of us a wave before disappearing behind the curtains that divided the kitchen from the dining room.

"So, Noire," Neptune says, a cheeky grin had made its way onto her lips as she gets up from her side of the booth to right next to me, our shoulders bumping against each other. "How's the relationship with Hiroshi? Going well? Have you gotten your sexy time on with him yet? Or perhaps you've already begun dating?" She nudges me with each question, my face burning hotter with each, embarrassingly excruciating question thrown at me.

"Wh-what do you mean, 'sexy time'!? I've just been living with him as a roommate… if you could even consider it like that…" I trail off, fueling Neptune's persistent flames as mine begin to die off.

"Ooh so you share a room! Do you share a bed? Do you cuddle when you sleep together?"

"Agh! Stop it!" I cut Neptune off before she could delve into an erotic question about Hiroshi and myself. "We're just living under the same roof is all! Nothing more, nothing less!" _I think_. I let the thought ring through my head as I attempt to stop Neptune's annoying banter.

"Okay, okay!" She then lets her arms fall to the table, her cheek pressing up against her arm as she then looks at me with a sigh. "You know, I really miss Gamindustri; everyone getting together to clear missions, defeating bosses, partaking in a game within a game. The fun stuff! Over here, I feel as if we're limited to only the ones who we know around us, and not everyone in the entire nation, or country as they call them here on Earth. I miss the luxury of being able to lounge around, to go anywhere and everywhere we wanted, to have an almighty power of control over everyone, ya know? I just wish that we could go back to the good old days."

"I, personally, disagree with you," I refute, Neptune sitting back up with confusion. "I really enjoy it here. I enjoy the peacefulness and modernity of this dimension. It's probably because I've had to constantly deal with papers 24/7, I know, but it takes a huge load off of our shoulders as CPUs."

"But that's where we get to have vacations! Aren't vacations used to help let your mind and body relax? To do the things you love to do like watch anime, play video games, eat pudding! This, to me, is too _long_ of a vacation; we need to get back!" Neptune furrows her brow, portraying an expression that I've never ever seen placed upon her face; seriousness and distraught. "This must be a dream, all of it. Hiroshi, Kagumi, Earth, us meeting again. Everything!"

"Wh-what are you talking about, Neptune? This is our world now! Gamindustri has already been taken over by the Seven Sages and everyone else got killed by Arfoire! There's nothing that we can do to save Gamindustri anymor-!"

"And this is why you're not the main character, Noire!" Neptune intervenes with my comment, making me stop and look at her.

"Why of course I'm the ma-"

"You don't get it, Noire. You can't just oblige to the fact that you've lost! No main character does that! Ever!" Neptune lets out a sigh, slumping back into the cushion of the booth. "Oh for crying out loud! I need some pudding right now!"

Letting out a small chuckle, I glance at the kitchen, in which Hiroshi and Kagumi were within. _Have I really been that dense and absorbed within the entertainment of Earth's belongings?_ I shake my head, my twintails slapping away those negative, repulsive thoughts. _I'm probably just overthinking this. It hasn't even been half a year since I've been in this dimension, let alone investigate the true meaning of the others being transported into this dimension as well._ Letting out a small groan, I let my head lie against the wooden surface of the table and feeling Neptune's gaze press against my head.

"You okay, Noire? Did you eat too much?" She gives my head a small pat, my face burning red at the sudden action.

"N-no I'm good!" I immediately sit up, relieving my head from the headrub delivered by Neptune. _It did feel good though…_ "Wh-when is that idiot coming back! Does he really take _that_ long to finish cleaning the dishes?" I quickly change the subject before Neptune could start an unnecessarily uncomfortable topic again.

"I don't know, where could I be?" The next thing I know, Hiroshi makes his way over to the table, his apron removed from his attire and just his normal day clothes.

In the background, Neptune let out a huff and rolled her eyes. "Well that was awfully convenient."

"Did I enter in the perfect moment that your girls' conversation ended or something?" He seats himself next to me, looking between the two of us.

"No not necessaril-"

"Yes you did. In fact," I interrupt Neptune's sugarcoated lie, turning to Hiroshi with a huff. "Why in Gamindustri's four Goddesses did you take so long cleaning the dishes! Neptune and I were nearly talking for an hour before you came back!"

"W-well I just got caught up with other miscellaneous activities in the meantime." He lets out a shrug, leaving me to stare at him with suspicion.

"Whatever! It's not like I'm suspicious or anything! You'll just refute my awfully accurate descriptions of what really happened!" I release a typical tsundere line from my mouth, Hiroshi just letting out a laugh before getting up from the booth.

"Well, I did hear from Kagumi that Neptune wanted to stay over at the house for the night, am I correct?"

"Yupperoo!" Neptune salutes, her usual, cheery self reappearing once again.

"I think we've spent enough time dilly-dallying in the Orchid! Let's head back home so you two can hang out for the rest of the day." Hiroshi smiles and Neptune and I exchange glances before following Hiroshi out of the door and in the direction of our household.

* * *

 **~Author's Note!~**

 **Hey, everyone! First of all, I'm sorry for the loooooooooooooooooooooooooooong wait for a chapter! I've been busy with end-of-the-year testing and it's been draining all of my motivational creativity of writing! I've been writing snippets of this chapter throughout the past month, but I've just finished it today!**

 **Anyway, how'd you enjoy the chapter? How'd you like the interaction between Neptune and Noire? Neptune seems a little suspicious, dontcha think? Acting all abnormal from her usual, cheery self, eh? B-but that's besides the point (or is it?)! Nonetheless, I'm extremely sorry for the wait, but testing will be over in a couple of weeks, so have an amazing day!**


	18. Chapter 18

**•[•]•[•] Noire [•]•[•]•**

"Uwah~! Your house is so nice!" Neptune lets out a squeal of excitement before rushing into the house.

"W-wait up! At least take your shoes off before going into the house!" I let out a growl and chase Neptune into the house, removing my shoes before entering. Hearing occasional bangs and shuffling of feet prancing around, I begin to wander around the house in search for the Wild Neptune. Entering the living room, I find Neptune lying on the couch, her feet propped up on the coffee table whilst holding a Plaestation controller as she proceeds to play a FPS.

" _This_ is the first thing that captivates you?" I let out a sigh and Neptune looks up at me with a grin.

"Who do you think I am, Noire? I'm the laziest CPU round' town! Of course I'm gonna go straight for the video games!" She then holds up a controller to me, wiggling it as if baiting me like one would a dog with a treat. "C'mon and play with me!"

"O-okay I'll play with you! I'm gonna crush you so be prepared!" I huff, taking the controller from Neptune and seating myself next to her.

"The rules of the game are no screen-peeking and whoever gets to five kills first wins the match!" Neptune explains, setting up the rules of the match.

"I'm fine with that! I'll get all five kills without dying once!" I cockily let out a laugh.

"We'll see about that, Lonely Heart!" She elbowed me in the arm, making me flinch.

"I-I'm not lonely!" I pout, Neptune starting the match with a laugh.

Entering the map of the game, our characters spawn in our designated spawn points, our weapons held in our hands, waiting for the countdown to start. The map that Neptune had chosen resembled a forest, in which there were abandoned and decaying buildings for shelter and protection. Vines had clung to the outer-walls of the buildings, serving as an efficient ladder to climb to the top. Since we were placed among a vast amount of trees which developed the forest, there were small platforms and treehouses were elevated for ambushing. Beneath the trees were dirt roads that had lead to the other buildings and neighborhoods adjacent to them. Our spawns were set in the middle of different neighborhoods, various types of buildings surrounding the both of us. I had spawned on the outside of a house on it's driveway whilst Neptune spawned in the middle of a shopping mall.

"Oh I've played this map before," I say, swivelling the camera angle to study the area, observing my surroundings.

"No fair! That's cheating!" Neptune pouts, kicking her legs out beneath her in frustration.

"Hey, it's not cheating if there weren't any rules about that in the first place!"

"Whatever! I'm still gonna beat you!" The countdown began to tick down, each second that passed by seemed to slow down as the adrenaline began to pump through my body.

"...3! 2! 1! GO!" The blaring of the alarm sounded as we had been released from the invisible chains that had locked our characters, allowing for us to move freely with the vicinity of the map.

Immediately sprinting towards the forest, my character hops up the platforms that were built on various trees. Pulling out my primary weapon, which in this map I had decided to go with a sniper rifle, I scope in and observe my radar, which held the information as to where the enemy was. A small, red dot had appeared in the northeast section of my compass, allowing for me to angle the scope in her direction. _I got you now, Neptune!_ I think to myself, a smirk creeping onto my face as I find Neptune dashing from building to building in the neighborhood that she should've spawned in. _Time to get the first kill!_ Pulling the trigger, I watch the animation of Neptune's avatar collapsing into a dead corpse.

"Aww shucks! Where were you, Noire!?" Neptune lets out a groan, tapping the button to respawn.

"I'm nowhere and everywhere!" Is all I respond before hopping from my original position on one platform to another. Scrolling through my weapon slots, I select a tactical sentry and bounce down from the platforms, running towards the neighborhood that I had just killed Neptune in. Dashing towards a collection of bushes, I place the sentry down inside of it, the successful hum of the machine starting. Immediately leaving the area, I maneuver around through the neighborhood, exiting and heading in the opposite direction of the forest.

Finding myself wandering down a dirt road, I avert to the side and into the agriculture, following the track whilst still keeping my guard up in case Neptune wanted to ambush me. Pulling out my secondary weapon, an automatic rifle, I begin to see an abandoned building ahead of me, the dirt trail continuing off beyond the structure. Running towards the building, I quickly roll behind the stone wall that had surrounded the building, hiding me from Neptune who could be out searching for me.

Suddenly, the death animation had played, the sound of a knife behind me echoing through the speaker, followed by the kill feed:

"Neptune:Knife → Noire"

"Are you _kidding_ me!?" I growl, turning to Neptune who just lets out a victorious, yet smug laugh.

"Gotcha!" She lets out a triumphant laugh before dashing off into the distance as my death cam fades away, signaling that my character was about to respawn.

"I'm gonna get the rest of the kills right away, you hear me!?" I huff and respawn, the humiliation of being knifed, by Neptune of all people, nagging me as I begin to search for Neptune and revenge kill her.

 **...**

"I told you I'd win." I toss a twintail over my shoulder, a victorious grin placed upon my lips, the victory screen displaying my character as she celebrated her win.

"That's not fair! You knew the map more than me!" Neptune pouts, setting the controller on the coffee table.

"Well it's not my fault that you broke a rule and screen-peeked!" I huff and set my controller by Neptune's, putting my hands on my hips. "Besides, I was just going easy on you!"

"Oh so your definition of 'going easy' is leaning into every shot as you try and kill me and angrily groaning when you die?" She steps towards me and pokes me in the side, making me flinch.

"Wh-wha-!? I-I didn't do that!" My face burns red and Neptune grins as she begins to tickle me, catching me off guard.

"Aha! I found your weak spot! C'mere, Noire! I'm winning _this_ battle!" She then pounces onto me, pushing me down onto the couch. Struggling to gain possession of this fight, I try to pry away from Neptune's pin, as she only takes advantage of me by aiming for the weak spots on my body.

"Hahahaha! Neptune! Stooooop!" I struggle under her grip as she continues to tortures me with her tickles. "I-I can't breathe! Give me a break!"

"Not until you say that you've been defeated by the Almighty Neptune!" She aims for my neck, wiggling her fingers as I flinch, the sensitivity forcing me to laugh.

"I-I'll never give up to you, Neptune!" I grab onto Neptune's hands and push her off of me, switching the roles of who's on top and who's on the bottom.

"Dinner's ready, you two.' The two of us freeze, turning our heads to the source of the sound: Hiroshi. "After we eat dinner you two can take a bath but the food's gonna get cold otherwise." As soon as he leaves the room, our bodies unfreeze, allowing for me to get off of Neptune's body, my face burning red. _Did Hiroshi just walk in on us in that awkward position? It looked like I was about to do something weird, didn't it? I hope he doesn't pester me about it…_ I think to myself, becoming increasingly flustered with each thought.

"First one to the dinner table wins!" Neptune snaps me out of my flustered state as she gets up from the couch and dashes out of the room.

"H-Hey! That's a false start!" I chase after Neptune with an annoyed shout.

"No running in the house, you two!" Hiroshi calls out to the two of us, who don't listen as we dash over to the table and take a seat.

"I beat you!" Neptune claims with a shout.

"No, I beat you!" I refute, glaring at Neptune.

"Nuh-uh! I beat you fair and square!"

"Because you got a head start!"

"Never said any rules, did I?"

"Okay, you two!" Hiroshi clears his throat, stopping the two of us from continuing our banter. "It's time to eat, not to argue, alright?"

"Fine!" I huff, picking up my utensils and giving thanks before digging into our meal.

"I still won!" Neptune grins before diving into her bowl, immediate satisfaction appearing on her face. "Wowza! This is frickin' good! Who made this!?"

"That would be me, Neptune!" Hiroshi pats his chest with pride, Neptune beginning to praise his meal.

"This is so good, Hiroshi! Where'd you learn to cook? The flavors combine so well and produce an amazing product! It might be better than pudding! Wait, wait, nothing can be better than pudding! Do you always cook in the house or does Noire cook too? Bravo!" Throwing an combination of questions and compliments, catching Hiroshi off guard, she continues to pester him with praise whilst in the midst of taking bites of the meal.

"Uh, I taught myself how to cook. I do most of the cooking, Noire likes to help out every now and then. I'm glad you enjoy the meal!" He accepts all of Neptune's disorganized and jumbled compliments in an organized fashion. "A-also try not to talk while eating. It's bad for the body."

 **...**

"So where's the bath house?" Neptune speaks up while Hiroshi and I had busied ourselves with cleaning the dishes.

"It's beyond the sliding glass doors just across from the entrance from here." I say, putting a dish into its designated area. "I can show you as soon as I finish putting these dishes away.

"Go ahead, Noire. I can take care of the rest." Hiroshi takes the towel from me, setting it besides him as he begins to wash another plate.

"Are you sure?" He nods, giving me a small smile.

"I'm sure you two have a lot to discuss while you're in there." Is all he says before returning to his cleaning.

Neptune, on the other hand, leans over to me and slyly whispers into my ear, "What a gentleman Hiroshi is. Don'tcha wanna date him?"

My face burns red at the abrupt question, responding in a flustered manner. "Wh-wh-what do you mean!? I would _never_ date _him_!" As soon as the words leave my mouth, I attempt to clamp my mouth shut in hopes that Hiroshi didn't hear my sudden outburst, which would be near impossible, for we were less than two feet away from him. "H-he's too… I-I just can't date him right now!" I lower my voice as I try to come up with an excuse to get Neptune from bothering me, pulling her by the arm towards the bathhouse.

"'Right now', huh?" Her usual, teasing smirk plastered upon her face. "That means that you have some sort of feelings for him, don'tcha?"

"Sh-shut up, Neptune!" I huff, pulling open the doors to the bath house, the refreshing scent of the water wafting through the entrance. "L-let's just take a bath, okay?"

"Whatever you say, you lonely tsun-de-re!" Neptune teases, putting her hands behind her head and walking into the bath house.

"Wait for me, idiot!" I chase after Neptune, sliding the doors shut behind us.

As we enter the bathhouse, Neptune immediately begins to strip, casually tossing her clothes aside and wrapping a towel around her body. I, on the other hand, awkwardly grab my towel and shuffle to the corner of the room, using the towel to cover my body as I undress. Carefully folding and making a pile of my clothing, Neptune grins and creeps closer and closer to me.

"I swear, if you dare try to take away the towel I'm going to kill you!" I growl at Neptune, an immediate response from Neptune as she backs off with a pout.

"Dang it! I thought you would be completely oblivious, busying yourself with your changing and all." She lets out a sigh before sitting down on a bench, waiting for me to finish.

Quickly changing out of my outfit, I quickly tie my hair up into a loose bun before wrapping the towel around my body. Neptune looks up at me with a smile before running her eyes up and down my body.

"Do you ever think about Hiroshi staring at your body?" She asks, a sly grin plastered upon her face.

"Wh-wh-wh-what do you mean!?" My face immediately burns a bright red, my hands instinctively attempting to cover up my body as I glare back at the kitchen in which Hiroshi was in. Neptune grabs onto my hand and pulls me into the bathhouse, nearly shoving me into the hot tub, following me in.

"I mean what I say! Now spill the beans!" She grins and nudges me with her elbow.

"F-fine!" I huff, staring at the water with embarrassment. "I-I mean, I've never really thought about Hiroshi staring at me l-l-like that."

"Therapist Neptune, activate!" She abruptly stands up, striking a cheesy pose before sitting back down.

"Was that really necessary?" I let out a sigh of disappointment as Neptune just rubs the back of her head.

"Yes, of course it's necessary!" She crosses her arms over her chests, staring me down. "What kinda stuff have you been keeping from me?" Neptune mocks me with a straight face. "You should really let your thoughts out to peeps like me once in awhile."

"Th-that was awfully direct." I cross my arms.

She ignores my statement, continuing to pester me with comments. "C'mon, it's okay to tell me what you're feeling!" She pauses. "Do you like him? I double doggo swear I won't tell anyone." She nods, but I just stare at her. I haven't really had anyone to talk to, girl-to-girl, so this might actually feel liberating.

I give myself a few moments to ponder on my swirling thoughts. _Have I really thought about my feelings towards Hiroshi? I guess I can't say that I have before. B-but why now of all times does_ Neptune _of all people have to bring up this topic! I-Is it okay for me to be thinking about this..?_ I let my body sink into the warm water, allowing for it to engulf me with its comforting sensation.

Bringing my head above the water, I blow small bubbles against the water. "Alright Neptune, I'll talk," I say, looking at Neptune, receiving a look of excitement. "But I haven't really thought about my… feelings until you brought it up here. I've been having so much fun with Hiroshi that I had completely disregarded the idea of being in love with him."

"So now that I've gotcha thinking about this topic, have you ever considered yourself in lo-"

"Therapist Neptune, deactivate!" I smack Neptune on the head, making her pout and rub the bruise that was progressively growing on her head.

"Wh-what was that for, Noire!?" She lets out a groan and slumps against the backrest of the bath.

"M-maybe things got a little _too_ personal with Therapist Neptune." I huff, attempting to sway Neptune from the topic of my love life. I-I swear I don't have one! Y-yet…

"What a party pooper." She just grumbles, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Let's have a relaxing bath, and not a bath that'll destroy the house, okay?" I let out a sigh, relaxing my shoulders and leaning into the edge of the bath.

"That would be fun." Neptune finally agrees with me for once, giving herself a small nod before proceeding to lean her head back so that she could look up at the ceiling. "Why is there cardboard covering one of the windows?"

"Wh-wha-!?" I immediately sit up, staring at the large piece of cardboard that was somehow able to cover the… accident that had occurred. "Th-that's nothing, Neptune! Yeah, nothing at all! I totally didn't break the window or anything…"

"Oho? Tell me th-"

"M-maybe later!" I immediately shoot the subject down. Letting my shoulders relax, the topic of Hiroshi had trickled back into my head. _Am I actually in love with Hiroshi? I mean, I've been with him for so long, and yet I have come to realize that I can't do anything without him. Is this what you would consider 'love'?_ I quickly shake those thoughts out of my head, my twintails helping with the process by hurriedly slapping them away.

"I-I think I'm finished bathing." I abruptly stand up, Neptune giving me a glance of confusion as I feel my face burn with a subtle blush. "There are dry towels on the right as soon as you exit the bath. Your clothes should be right next to them, so it shouldn't be too hard for you to find." Leaving Neptune to wonder as to why I had left in such a hurry, not caring for how obvious the reason was, I quickly enter the changing room and slide the door shut behind me.

As soon as I close the door behind me, I immediately slump to the floor, hugging my knees to my chest. _Wh-why do I suddenly feel so lightheaded? Is it because of love? Is it just because I'm thinking about Hiroshi? I'm probably just overthinking this, aren't I?_ I clamp my ears shut and squeeze my eyes closed. _Don't think about him right now! Just focus on what's going to happen next. Neptune. Neptune! Yes, playing video games with Neptune and crushing her! B-but then sleeping with Hiroshi… W-wait I said not to think about him!_

I continue to banter within my brain, having back and forth arguments, attempting to distract myself from the annoying topic of Hiroshi. Letting out a small pout, I let out a shout. "Curse you, Hiroshi! Get out of my head, you stupid idiot!" I take a few breaths, imagining the confused look on his face after hearing my exclamation. _Ha! Take that, stupid thoughts!_ I triumphantly stand up, drying myself off and changing into my pajamas.

Exiting the changing room and into the entrance of the house I find Hiroshi standing on the stairs, his face full of confusion as he stares at me. _His expression is just as I imagined!_ I think to myself, hiding the triumphant grin behind my blush. _I-I hope I wasn't too loud though…_

"What exactly went on in there?" His eyes follow me as I walk towards the stairway.

I brush past him and head up the stairs without giving him an answer, the only answer I could give was the prominent blush that was spread across my whole face. _I-I'm sorry, Hiroshi, but I can't answer that question at the moment._ I silently answer him with my thoughts, hastening my pace until I enter the bedroom, hurriedly shutting the door behind me.

Immediately flopping onto the bed, I bury myself into the bedsheets, hoping that Hiroshi wouldn't come into the bedroom until I fell asleep. Unfortunately for me, I hear the bedroom door open, the sound of footsteps gradually getting closer to the bed. _Please don't be Hiroshi. Please don't be Hiroshi. Please don't be Hiroshi._

"What's going on, Noire?" _It's Hiroshi._

"N-nothing's going on, Hiroshi." I hear myself stutter as I answer him.

"That's what you say, and yet you completely ignored me going up the stairs." He sits himself on the bed, the mattress sinking due to his weight. "Is it really that bad that you can't tell me what it is?"

Nodding under the blankets, Hiroshi sighs and gently moves the covers, revealing my bright red face. He then places a hand on my head, rubbing it back and forth.

"D-don't treat me like a child!" I pout, but I don't do anything to stop him from petting me.

"Do you want me to sleep in another room for the night for you to contemplate the situation?"

"No… don't leave me." I softly mumble, not caring for what came out of my mouth at this point; his head rub was surprisingly soothing, making me slip into the grasps of sleep.

"You, little missy, are a weird tsundere." He lets out a sigh, giving me a pat on the head before getting up from the bed. "It's getting late, so get some sleep, will you?" I hazily glance over the clock, reading "22:49". Feeling my vision slipping, I begin to feel myself take heavier, longer breaths. Closing my eyes, I feel Hiroshi brush the bangs that had become disarranged from his head rub back into place. I swear I could've heard something escape from his lips, but I was too tired to care, my conscious slipping away and being taken in by the hospitality of dreams.

* * *

 **•[•]•[•] Hiroshi [•]•[•]•**

Hearing Noire begin to take deeper breaths, her chest rising and falling, signaling that she had fallen asleep, I can't help but chuckle to myself before getting up from the bed and relieving myself from the room. Exiting the room, I find myself face-to-face with the one and only Neptune. She had herself propped against the railing, a smug look on her face as she notices that I had just left the bedroom.

"How'd it go?" She pushes herself off of the railing, bounding down the stairs fairly quietly, leaving me to follow her down.

"Not great, not horrible." I relay to her, receiving a groan of obvious boredom from her.

"Really? _Nothing_ interesting happened?" She puts her hands behind her head and turns to face me. "That can't be possible! With a tsundere like her, there's no such thing as 'not interesting'! Spill the beans, Hiroshi!"

"Being with Noire for nearly half a year has allowed for me to learn so much about her, as well as to become closer to her. Things are fairly normal between her and I, but today something seemed different about her."

"Ooh! Here's the juicy stuff!" She nudges me with her elbow, grinning as she pokes and prods. "Hit me up with the goods!"

"O-okay! Just stop poking me!" Neptune immediately stops, her eyes nearly shining as she begins to lean towards me. "When Noire came out of the bath, I asked her a question, but she had completely ignored me and went up into the bedroom. I had found her buried in the covers and I tried to get some info out of her about what happened, but she wouldn't give me any direct answers."

"You know," Neptune's attitude changed from her jovial, non-serious self to an actually serious attitude. "She might be acting differently because you might've done something to her." She gives me a small wink before dashing past me and into the guest rooms. "I'ma hit the sack, alright? Have fun contemplating this situation!"

"Wait, Neptune!" I call out to Neptune, waiting for her return, but she didn't answer my call. "What could I have done to Noire to make her act this way towards me?" I mumble to myself, pacing back and forth in the entrance, placing a hand under my chin,

 _There's no way that she could be in love with me, right? She wouldn't even_ think _of us being together, but I'm not sure if I've even thought about that either. What have I done to make her mad? I mean, I might've stolen her pencil for a period or two, and I might've accidentally thrown away some of her notes on accident, but I don't think that she even noticed, being Noire and all._

"Gah! This is so tedious to think about!" I let out an annoyed grumble, ruffling up my hair out of frustration. "I hope this won't be too big of a problem to have to deal with." I say to myself, attempting to help motivate myself.

"Now that I think about it," I think out loud, glancing around the house. "I have some cleaning that I need to do." I give myself a confident nod, using this activity to entertain myself, to distract myself from the current topic. _Hopefully everything will turn out to be okay._

 **~Author's Note!~**

Hey, everyone! Sorry for the really late update! I've been busy with these last weeks of school coming up. Most of you are probably out of school but I'm still busy. As soon as school is finished I'll be able to actually write and post consistently on the stories that I have currently been working on!

How was the chapter? Maybe a turning point in the relationship between Hiroshi and Noire? The storyline is gonna get a lot more intense so be ready for that ;3 I hope you enjoyed this chapter and have an amazing day!


	19. Chapter 19

**•[•]•[•] Hiroshi [•]•[•]•**

"So this is Neptune, your HDD form!" Uni introduces Nep to her more "mature" self, Neptune. We had all unanimously agreed upon calling the less-developed Neptune, "Nep" and the more developed Neptune, "Neptune" to avoid any confusion. Although we had just introduced Nep to Neptune, it had seemed as if the two Neptunes were already captivated by each other.

"Wow, you look so tiny! I never knew you would be this cute!" Neptune pats Nep on the head, who returns a grin whilst crossing her arms over her chest.

"Well of course I have to be cute! I'm the main protagonist, you see? And I never knew you would be so… bouncy-bouncy! I wonder how many viewers think that I'm their favorite CPU in HDD form…" Nep proceeds to break the fourth wall with her mumbling, forgetting the reason as to why she was invited to the club in the first place.

"Ahem!" Noire clears her throat, gaining the attention of the Neptunes before continuing. "So now that we're here with Nep, we need to discuss our next plans as far as what we're going to do in order to find our missing friends. Anyone got any ideas?"

"I found where Nepgear is, but I have yet to contact her." Uni speaks up, holding up one of the class lists which supposedly held Nepgear's name in it. "We're all set as far as Planeptune and Lastation go, but now we need to find the twins, Blanc, Vert and Histy. As far as I'm concerned, the other CPUs and Candidates will be fairly easy, it's just that finding Histy will be fairly tedious."

"With that being said," I speak up, "Is there any possible ideas or thoughts about how to find the CPUs and Candidates? I don't know who wrote a letter to who, but I'm guessing that Neptune and Noire already wrote letters to each other and Uni to Nepgear. We don't know who Nepgear sent her letter to so we will have to wait for whenever she joins the club."

"I believe she has become somewhat attached to Vert over the years so I'm pretty sure she should've sent her letter to Vert." Neptune adds into the conversation, throwing another clue into the jumble of thoughts and ideas.

"But what if your theory isn't correct?" Noire retaliates Neptune's statement.

"Then it isn't correct. I'm just placing my bet that Nepgear _does_ send a letter to Vert-"

"-out of plot convenience, right, Neptune?" Nep grins and Neptune nods. "See, I know these things!"

"Hopefully that's the case, Neptune and Nep," I say, letting out a small sigh. "Sometimes you can't rely on that stuff, but sometimes we have to take the risk."

"So why did you bring up that point if you were just going to contradict yourself?" Nep just blinks at me as she shuts my lecture down without any sympathy.

"Sorry I even mentioned that." I slump back into my chair, noticing Noire give me a sideways glance.

"A-anyway!" Noire clears her throat. "Our next plan should be to get Nepgear here as soon as possible! Once we do that, we can see if Vert is available to us to try and find Histy or Blanc and the twins."

"So other than that, if nobody has anything else to say, I think that our meeting is adjourned!" Neptune closes her notebook in which she kept all of her notes of the day's club meeting in.

As the group begins to disperse, I look over at Noire who begins to play with her hair. "That meeting was fairly quick, wasn't it?" She just returns a blank nod, not bothering to glancing back at me. "Is there anything that you'd like to do today? I don't think that we have any homework that's due anytime soon so we're pretty much free." Noire shrugs and slumps forward, nuzzling her cheek into her arms which were crossed on the table.

"I kinda just wanna chill at a park or something like that. Meeting up with Neptune and my other friends has been fairly draining both physically and emotionally." She lets out a yawn before arching her back into a stretch, where she nearly smacks me in the face with her arms. "Do you have any place that we could go to?"

"Sure, I can think of a few." I state, staring out of the window, watching as a pair of birds play with each other in the blue sky.

"Pick the best place out of the few that you came up with."

"Of course, your majesty. Always the best for you." I say sarcastically, receiving a glare from the noirette. The other club members had all trickled out of the room, leaving me and Noire in the clubroom.

"Oh would you quit it?" She groans and lazily throws a pen at me, which misses me and magically lands in a pencil cup. Her eyes light up slightly at the small achievement before slumping down again.

"Did you get enough sleep last night? Or was something keeping you up?" I stare down at Noire, who's face abruptly turns pink at my statement.

"N-no I got _plenty_ of sleep! Yeah, a ton! I-I wasn't thinking of anything related to you, I swear! B-but shut up, you idiot! I didn't eat lunch!" She releases her tsundere rant to me, making me sigh. "Th-though I actually did eat lunch so forget I said anything…"

"Whatever you want, you tsundere." I lightly bonk her on the head, receiving a small pout from the noirette. "Let's head over to the park before I have to carry you home like last time."

"N-never carry my home again, okay!? A-and erase that memory from your mind!" She huffs at me, immediately standing up from her chair and stomping out of the room.

"Tsunderes are quite the interesting species, aren't they." I sigh to myself, following her out of the room.

* * *

 **•[•]•[•] Noire [•]•[•]•**

 _Hiroshi's an idiot, bringing up some stupid, embarrassing moment! I can't believe I just let him do that to me, carry me and all!_ I pout to myself, ignoring the fact that Hiroshi was walking right next to me as we made our way to wherever the park was that he was leading me to _. A-although it was nice of him to do that… but he could've just woken me up like he should've so he didn't have to touch me like that! I-I hope I wasn't too heavy though… Oooh why am I think like this!?_

Nep's voice then begins to echo through my head. _"Have you ever thought about dating him? Would you consider yourself to be in love with him? I'm sure that he'd date you if you'd just asked him out."_ My face burns red at Neptune's ridiculous urges and I proceed to walk faster, attempting to stray away from Hiroshi. Nevertheless, he continues to walk right next to me, keeping up with my pace.

"I-is something wrong, Noire?" Hiroshi speaks up, placing a hand on my shoulder, my face burning even hotter than it already had been. "You're burning up pretty badly."

"I-I'm fine!" I practically shout at him, but then immediately cover my mouth in regret. "S-sorry I didn't mean to shout."

"It's fine Noire. Your face is bright red and you're acting all funny so something's obviously up." He turns me so that I'm facing him but I just avert my gaze, staring at every other place besides his eyes.

"I-I don't wanna talk about it right now, okay?" I lower my voice to a dull mumble, not caring about my stutter as much as my heart, for it began to beat a lot faster than normal. _What is this feeling? Is it a debuff? Why can't I think straight!_ I think to myself. I turn around and begin to walk again but I feel Hiroshi's hand grab onto my wrist. He gently turns me around and places his hands on my shoulders, looking me directly in the eyes.

"Seriously, what's going on?" Clearly not understanding what I'm trying to relay to him, he continues to pester me.

"Nothing, Hiroshi!" I growl at him, managing to get his hands off of me. "Why can't you understand what I'm telling you! Just back off for a little, okay?" I then turn around and head for the exit in a more hurried fashion than normal.

Finding myself outside, I let out a huff, clenching my fists. _That idiot, as much as he cares for me, he needs to be a little bit more observant! Can't he tell that I need some time to think? ...about him..?_ I feel my face burn up, an image of Hiroshi replacing all thoughts in my mind. _Since when did I get so attached to that man? He's just some guy that doesn't know anything about me! Yeah, that's right!_ I try to tell myself, but then came an overwhelming wave of optimistic thoughts about him. _B-but at the same time, he's probably the one who I'm closest with, even more so than Uni. He cares for me like an idiot would, a-and even lets me sleep on him. Why does he even let me do that to him?_ I puff out my cheeks and turn around, glaring at Hiroshi who had apparently made his way out of the building.

"Hey, Noir-"

"G-gah! Why are you here!?" I sputter, my face exploding with heat.

"D-Did something else happen, Noire?" He looks around the area, searching for something that could lead to the solution of the problem that wasn't even there in the first place.

"N-n-nothing happened." My arms fall to my sides, my body giving up on maintaining its physical state, but maintaining my mental state. _"I wanna go home!" one of my sides screams at me. "I wanna be with Hiroshi!" my other side complains to me._ I let out a small growl under my breath, scaring away my thoughts. "I-I'm going home."

"Would you like me to come with you?" He takes a few steps towards me.

"I'm good." Is all I could muster to say before I turned around and headed in the direction of the house.

* * *

 **•[•]•[•] Hiroshi [•]•[•]•**

 _Is there something that I said to her?_ I watch as Noire walks away from me, not glancing back behind her as she does so. _I wonder if it's the food that I've been making. Or is it the way I've been treating her at school? Or at home?_ I let out a frustrated groan, shoving my hands into my pockets. _I forgot my bag thinking about this._ Turning around, I begin to make my way into the building to retrieve my belongings.

Quickly gathering my items from my locker, I hear footsteps sound from my right. Instinctively turning to look at the source of the sound, I find myself staring at Neptune. Slinging my bag over my shoulder, I give her a small wave, gaining her attention. Watching as she makes her way over to me with a smile, the two of us begin to walk towards the exit side-by-side.

"I heard a little bit about your situation with Noire just now," Neptune speaks up, giving me a sideways glance as I push the door open for her.

"Wh-what about it?" I reply.

"What are you gonna do about it? I mean, you can't just let it play itself out without acting upon it, you know." I look back at Neptune, who just lets out a sigh.

"Well I can't just chase her down right now; she's too stubborn at the moment to do anything. I have some groceries to take care of as well, so that should allow for the two of us to calm down a bit." As I finish speaking, I feel my phone buzz in my pocket, signaling a reminder for me to take care of my groceries.

"Would you like me to accompany you?" She averts her gaze from me as she speaks. "I-I think it'll ease some of the work that you have to do."

"Are you sure? You don't have to if you don't want to."

"It's fine! Besides, I could probably help you get over the stress between the two of you." Neptune then shrugs and the two of us take a turn.

"Alright, suit yourself, Neptune." I smile and hand her my phone, which held the list of groceries. "It might seem like a bunch of stuff to take care of, but I think the two of us can handle it."

"A-and you're offering to do all of this by yourself!?" She stares at me with astonishment before handing me back my phone.

"It's a normal load for me to take care of," I say with a shrug, slipping my phone back into my pocket. "We'd better get over there before it gets too late."

"So you're saying that it's going to take us more than seven hours to do this?"

"At least for me it does." I blatantly state.

"THIS IS NOT WORTH YOUR TIME!" She exclaims, crossing her arms over her chest, which just spilled over her arms, emphasizing its size.

 **...**

"Hey, Hiroshi?" Neptune grabs a bottle of vinegar and places it into the second car that was necessary to contain all of our items.

"What's up, Neptune?" I look at her with a sideways glance.

"Have you ever wondered about dating Noire, or even being in love with her?" I feel my face burn red as an image of Noire appears in my head.

"N-n-n-n-no! Not in the slightest!" I shake my head, proceeding to push the cart a little faster.

"Then what's with the response?" She nudges me in the rib, making me flinch. "Come on, I've got you thinking at least a little bit, right?"

"I-I guess so…" I mumble, the thought of Noire and I dating taking over my entire thought process.

"So that's a yes." Neptune drops a candy bar into the cart. "So why aren't you acting upon those feelings?"

"I'm just scared is all." _Now that I think about it,_ I think to myself, glancing at the candy bars that Neptune had "secretly" slipped into the cart. _I've been afraid to portray my true feelings towards her. But when I do end up showing her my true feelings, they're always exemplified in a subtle way. Her outstanding prowess in nearly every subject is perceived, by all who witness her, as intimidating, yet astonishing nevertheless._ "I'm just intimidated by her skills; she's practically the best in everything! I feel like if I end up asking her out she might reject me and then things will become much more awkward, excluding the fact that we're even living together."

"Well those are the exact reasons for why you _should_ ask her out. Because you're astonished by her skills shows that you wanna be like her, and even be with her. And the fact that you live with her, it supports the idea of you two dating; you'll be able to see each other even more and possibly doing some things while you're alone." Neptune smirks at her last comment, making me blush.

"I-I don't think we'll be doing that anytime soon!" I exclaim, but quickly lower my voice in fear of disrupting the other, fellow customers. "Why do you have to come to that conclusion already!?"

"Oh, because it's already happened!" She winks at me. "Maybe in another story called 'A Collection of Lustful Wonders' but ignore what I had just said." Was that a shameless plug via fourth-wall break?

"O-oh really?" Is all I say before we turn the corner of the aisle, entering the frozen section.

"A-anyway!" Neptune coughs and leans next to me to look at the shopping list. "All we need are a couple packs of pudding, right?"

"Pudding? Pudding isn't on the list." I say but Neptune just gives me a cheeky smile before grabbing a few packs.

"I think it's my payment for helping you out, don'tcha think?"

"You were the one who offered your help, but you deserve it." I smile and she lets out a squeal as if she were a child again as she places them in the cart. "Geez you're such a kid when it comes to pudding, Neptune." I then give her a small nuggie, making her let out a pout.

"N-no I'm not! I just enjoy pudding is all!"

"Yeah, with more of a passion than most people who enjoy pudding." I scoff, making her cross her arms over her chest.

"You're really mean, Hiroshi." The two of us proceed to make our way to the checkout counter. "Are you this mean to Noire? If so, you're not gonna stand a chance against her."

"I'm not _that_ mean, am I?" I take the bags from the checkout stand, leaving Neptune to stare at me in awe.

"Are you sure you can take care of all of those bags? What if you drop one?"

"It's fine, Neptune. I've been doing this for nearly four years so I've managed to pull through with this little 'workout'." I just shrug and the two of us make our way out of the supermarket.

"It may not be apparent at first, but you're quite the underrated man to look for." I look at her with a quizzical look but all I had received was a wink and a small smile. "Pay attention to the girls around you; you never know what they'll do to you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm not sure. It's up to you to decide." As I let out a small complaint, Neptune just giggles. "Would you like me to accompany you home? I don't have anything much planned this evening; I've got next week's activities planned out already."

"Wow you work surprisingly efficient, compared to Nep at least. I wouldn't mind you tagging along with me; it'd be nice to have some company." I give her the nod of approval and the two of us continue on our journey back home.

As we had crossed an intersection to make our way to another street, Neptune looks at me with a sideways glance. "So what are you gonna do about that tsundere?"

"What about her?"

"The whole deal between you two." Neptune's eye twitched and it looked as if she were about to smack me. "Did you _really_ forget about it?"

"S-somewhat. It's still been on my mind, but I managed to distract myself by shopping." I let out a small sigh. "All that I can say for now is that I'm nervous about talking with Noire again. I know that she'll probably forgive me for what I did, or maybe she won't, assuming the worst." And then another question came to mind. _Do I ask her out?_ It was a simplistic question, and yet it hit me like a ballista. So many possibilities swam through my head, most of them that occurred was negative.

"You should ask her out, you know." She answers my own question for me. "She has some special feelings for you, I can tell. Your advisor has to observe the class with utmost care to reap the highest quality crop from the field."

"Thanks for the support, Neptune. It really helps me a ton." I give her a smile. I would hug her, but my hands were obviously full, preventing me from doing so. It would probably be better not to because it would lead to a bit of misunderstanding after what we had already established within this conversation. "I'll tell you about what happened later. I guess you could consider it my 'payment' back to you."

"You don't have to; I'd rather you not since it's a personal moment with the two of you." She then stops and puts her hands behind her back. "Well I think I'm going to head home now since this is the street where I live. I'm fairly certain that your house isn't much further from here, so you shouldn't have to go very long without me. Have a good one with Noire, Hiroshi."

"Thanks, again, for everything that you've done for me, and for Noire. The club has done a great deal to the both of us, and with you being our advisor makes things even better!" I begin to leave, but then I realized that I had forgotten to give Neptune her treats. "O-oh, Neptune! I nearly forgot to give you your pudding and candy!" I quickly hand her the plastic bag and she just giggles, a small blush visible on her cheeks as she quickly turns around and makes her way back home, immediately digging into a container of pudding as she does so.

* * *

 **•[•]•[•] Noire [•]•[•]•**

 _When's that idiot coming home?_ I think to myself, pacing around the house, waiting for something to do. _I know he had some shopping to do, but it's taking him a lot longer than usual to do this. Why am I being so impatient with him?_ I let out a frustrated grumble, one half directed towards Hiroshi, the other being towards my thoughts.

As soon as I finish that thought, I hear the key to the house clicking and clacking as Hiroshi fiddles with the lock. Rushing to the entrance, but quickly stopping myself from being overly-excited, I open the door to find myself facing Hiroshi with nearly thirty bags full of groceries in it.

"What took you so long, you idiot!?" I pout at Hiroshi as he stumbles in, barely managing to get his shoes off. _I was lonely without you, Hiroshi…_ I felt my heart throb as I help carry half of the groceries into the kitchen before sorting them.

"I was out taking care of the groceries for the week." He sorts the bags into certain categories as he speaks. "We eat so much so I have to spend a little more time out at the supermarket to get the items."

As we begin to sort the groceries, we work in silence for we had gotten used to a certain system of sorting. Although we were working without fault, there was something off with the atmosphere. Quickly glancing occasionally at Hiroshi as the two of us sort out the groceries, I feel Hiroshi's hand brush against mine as we reach for the container of Pocky sticks. Immediately pulling back with a furious blush on our faces, we shuffle away from each other and leave the bag of Pocky sticks and miscellaneous foods to be a small barrier for the time being. As we continue to work in silence, the rustling of the bags and shuffling of containers being the only, present noises, Hiroshi had made his way over to the candy bag and had begun to sort the candies. My shoulder was pressing against his, neither one of us daring to disturb the quiet, yet enjoyable presence of each other. _I wonder if he likes me._ The sudden thought caught me off guard, my face immediately burning a bright red.

"H-hey, Hiroshi?" My heart leaps as I speak, the words flying out of my mouth before I could think about it.

"Yes, Noire?" He sets down the bag of tomatoes in his hand, turning to face me.

"U-um…" I space out, my heart beginning to beat faster as I stare into Hiroshi's eyes. "N-nevermind!" I try to shut down the topic before it could escalate, but Hiroshi continued to press on.

"This whole day you've been acting really weirdly, especially around me." Th-that's becau-. "I-I don't know if I can help you, but after I finish sorting the foods out, I could try and help you."

"S-sure, no problem!" _What is he going to talk to me about? I hope he isn't going to get mad at me._ Various thoughts fly in and out of my head as I had finished sorting another bag of groceries into its designated area in the kitchen. "I'm finished with my end of the sorting. I'm going to head to the room." I abruptly say, maybe a bit too rushed, as I exit the kitchen and rush upstairs, quickly closing the bedroom door behind me.

Flopping onto the bed sheets, pulling them over me and covering myself, I feel my face burning red, which accumulated heat underneath the sheets. _Why is my heart throbbing and my head spinning so much!? It's driving me insane!_ I hold my head in attempt to shake the dizziness out of my brain but it was no use. _What did Hiroshi give to me? Is it love? Is it a disease? Either way I hate it!_ I pout into the bed, puffing out my cheeks at the thought of that annoying idiot.

"Gahhh! I hate this!" I abruptly sit up, clenching the bed sheets besides me as I let out a groan of frustration. Hearing Hiroshi's muffled footsteps cascade the stairs, I start to feel nervous for his arrival. _Why am I feeling a sudden adrenaline rush? This isn't a performance nor a speech at a nationwide gathering! It's just one, stupid idiot that's about to enter the bedroom! Ooh, feelings, why!?_ I banter with myself, awaiting his arrival. Hearing two knocks on the door, then the creaking of the door being opened, I watch as Hiroshi awkwardly steps into the room, staring at me.

"I'm finished, Noire." He then takes a deep breath, myself not being too sure as to why he would do so.

"O-okay." I hear myself stutter, slipping off of the edge of the bed and standing up.

"Would you like to go to the Cliff to talk about whatever's bothering you?"

"S-sure why not?"

Following Hiroshi out of the room, I ignored the fact that this felt awfully similar to one whose turn had finally arrived to meet with the doctor for a checkup. The warm breeze of the autumn, afternoon breeze had wafted through the air as he opens the door, in which the two of us had exited the house and stepped onto the porch. We make our way off of the porch and turn to head to the road where Hiroshi's meditational territory was located at. Inhaling the relaxing, sea breeze that replaced the air back near the house, I was filled with the pleasant, refreshing gift of the Goddesses, but along with the relaxing ambiance came an unidentifiable aura. It was unidentifiable because of the lack of understanding as to how it made me feel. It wasn't necessarily soothing, but was also lacking the attribute of uneasiness. The only thing that I could say for certain was the fact that it made me feel tingly in the heart, similar to the feeling that I was forced to cope with back in the house.

"Is it just me, or does it seem different, being here in this place of serenity?" Hiroshi speaks up, stopping as we arrive at our destination.

"I can agree with you on this, Hiroshi. It holds quite the mysterious ambiance; part of me wants to accept it, the other part doesn't." I speak my thoughts, receiving a nod from him.

Watching as he walks over to the bench, he pats a seat next to him whilst giving me a welcoming gesture. Shuffling over to Hiroshi, I seat myself next to him, enjoying and disliking the minimal space between the two of us. Staring out into the sunset, which its reflection glistened across the ocean, amplifying the beauty of the scene before me. Hearing Hiroshi shift next to me, I find him leaning forward, his elbows resting on his thighs as he, too, was staring at the masterpiece.

"You know, Noire," He then speaks up, turning to look at me before continuing. "There has been so many things that you have done for me that have changed my life. I could name an infinite amount of things that you have done, but there's no need to do that. Being with you right now is one of those things that affects my life." My eyes widen and I feel my face burn a bright red as he speaks.

"Wh-wha-!? Y-y-you idiot! I haven't done a single thing for you but call you a hopeless idiot and make you my servant!" I huff as I glare at Hiroshi.

"But you've also expanded my horizons by taking me on a trip to the Imayoshi Hot Springs, you've helped me become friends with someone, you've helped me learn the definition of 'family', and most of all," He then sits up and slowly begins to lean towards me. "You've taught me how to love."

And then he leaned in and pressed his lips against mine.

* * *

 **~Author's Note!~ Hey, everyone! I'm so, so, so, so, so, so sorry that I have kept you all waiting for what, nearly two months!? How dare you, HDNftw, keep your viewers waiting for your update to come the next week, only to find out that it would come out two months later! I've been suffering the "Real Life" syndrome, a disease that forces you to interact with human beings for extensive periods of time, forcing me to refrain from writing! I've got another chapter for the Collection of Lustful Wonders coming out soon, but yeah, the Collab is put on hold since my partner is in vacation! Suffering from a Writer's Block and the "Real Life" syndrome takes the motivation out of me.**

 **Anyway! Enough ranting on about lame excuses! How'd you like the chapter? It was a lengthier chapter than what I'm used to writing, but there was so much plot to jam in this one, goddamn chapter! How'd you like the end? Was it too spicy for some of you? This is the turning point of the fanfic's plot as far as Hiroshi and Noire's relationship with one another (if you can't already guess by what happened xD)! Nevertheless, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter!**

 **I will do my best to update as soon as possible to make up for the lack of content that I should be posting! Thank you all for your support throughout my year of being a fanfiction writer (I hit my anniversary a week ago, 7/4/16!) and have an _amazing_ day! :)**


	20. Chapter 20

**•[•]•[•] Noire [•]•[•]•**

" _You've taught me how to love"_ _Is all he says before leaning in and pressing his lips against mine. Closing my eyes, I allowed for myself to enjoy the moment. The sensation of his lips was exhilarating. Whilst his lips weren't as moist as mine, they still entranced me as we kissed. No words could comprehend the feeling of bliss as this moment. Too many thoughts were going throughout my head to keep track of. Even though there was a tornado of jumbled thoughts floating around in my head, all I could think of was Hiroshi. Hiroshi, Hiroshi, Hiroshi._

So this is what true love is, _I think to myself as we kiss. He then begins to pull away but I press against his lips, urging for us to continue. To comfortably continue to enjoy the moment, I shift my position so that my hands caressed the nape of his neck, pulling him closer to me. He, too, wraps his arms around me and hugs me closer to him, restraining the two of us from moving. It felt as if time slowed down for us, just for us to enjoy these moments together. I doubt that if we ever_ did _kiss again, it wouldn't compete with the ambiance and exhilarating feeling that is attached to this, first kiss._

 _It was then I felt a constriction in my lungs, telling me that I was running out of precious air._ But I don't want this to end..! _I exclaim to my lungs, knowing that selfish thoughts like these won't affect the way that life treats you. Gently releasing us from the bind of bliss, I slowly pull away, my face flushed up, a small string of saliva being the only, physical tie that connects us. It was then we snapped out of our lustful haze, our faces burning bright red with embarrassment. We sat in silence for what seemed like hours, but in reality, were merely minutes, pondering upon the unforgettable moment that we had shared with one another. Maintaining eye contact with one another was hopeless, for it would ultimately lead to awkward, sporadic glances at the other person._

" _Th-that was one helluva experience." Hiroshi was the first one to make a comment, breaking the silence. I could only nod in a silent agreement, touching a finger to my lips, savoring the moments of the overwhelming bliss._

" _D-does this mean that we're dating?" I speak those words just barely louder than a whisper, words only Hiroshi could comprehend._

" _Yeah it does, Noire." he then wraps an arm around my shoulder, pulling me into an embrace. "Are you okay with this?"_

" _O-of course I am, you idiot! We wouldn't be k-k-kissing if I wasn't okay with this." I pout at Hiroshi, my face burning red as I speak the "k-word"._

" _I-is it okay if we kiss again?" I look up at Hiroshi to find him blushing furiously as he avoids eye contact with me. Giggling, I reach up and gently turn his chin so that he's facing me._ I can see why I fell in love with this hopeless idiot. _I think to myself, leaning closer and puckering my lips to enjoy each other once more._ Took me long enough to do so. _I inwardly scoff at myself before Hiroshi diverts my attention from everything once again, focusing it all on himself as he begins to kiss me once again._

* * *

"Gah!" My eyes shoot open and I hear a beep next to me. Next to me was the alarm clock, which had its alarm beeping for a few minutes now, for it had read "6:17" and the alarm was set to go off at 6:15. Sitting up, I find myself buried in the covers, but on one side of the bed. _Hiroshi and I must've gone to sleep together._ I think to myself, looking over my shoulder at the empty half of the bed. Letting out a yawn, I slide out of the bed and make my way over to the bathroom, where I had found Hiroshi brushing his teeth.

"Good morning, Noire," He says after he spits out his toothpaste.

"Good morning, Hiroshi." Hiroshi then wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me into him, making me blush as I apply toothpaste to my toothbrush. "Wh-what's this for?"

"Nothing." He then releases me from his embrace before exiting the bathroom. "We're having omelets for breakfast, so come down whenever you're ready."

"Alright, sounds good." I respond before brushing my teeth.

 **...**

"Oho? You're dating Hiroshi now?" One of my classmates, Sakugo Tanabushi, walks up to me during one of our break periods, gaining the attention of nearby classmates.

"What? You're dating someone now?"

"Who? Who?"

"I knew that the school's OTP was dating!" Various comments blurt out at me, making me awkwardly fidget in my seat.

"Y-yeah we're dating now."

"Did you guys kiss yet?"

"K-k-k-k-kiss!?" My face burns red at the pronunciation of the word. "U-uhm yeah we have…" I mumble the last part, making everyone in the small crowd "aww" and make other, romanticized remarks.

"See, I knew you two would be cute together!" Uni jumps into the conversation as she rests and elbow on my shoulder. Believe it or not, Uni had helped me cope with my feelings towards Hiroshi for a while now. She had continuously bugged me throughout the breaks of each period, pestering me to confess to Hiroshi.

"Sh-shut up, Uni!" I pout, my relentless sister continuing to pester me with teasing remarks.

"It's not like you're denying it!" She just giggles before giving me a small smile. "But hey, real talk, are you happy that you're dating him now?"

"W-well of _course_ I am happy dating Hiroshi!" I exclaim, crossing my arms over my chest. "There's nobody in any dimension that can compare to him." I mumble the last part, making Uni smirk.

"Of course nobody can compare to that man!" She then pats me on the back before giving me a wave, signaling that she was going back to her desk. "Have fun with him on your free periods alone!" I know she meant that as a joke, but it was still embarrassing to think about nevertheless.

 **…**

"Congratulations, Hiroshi and Noire, for becoming a couple!" Neptune announces to the club members that had gathered in the Extradimensional Dispersion Clubroom. Everyone cheers and claps, leaving me and Hiroshi to blush. "And let's give a huge thanks for Vii for doing a bit of more research into our current mission which is collecting all of the CPUs, Candidates, and Histoire, for she has successfully spotted Vert!" We all clap and cheer again, Vii just acknowledging our thanks with a small nod and a wave.

"Fortunately for us," Vii starts, taking over the conversation. "Vert is kind enough to take her time to join us tomorrow for our meeting in order to plan on retrieving Nepgear, Blanc, Rom and Ram. Unfortunately, she is currently busy in a dungeon of an MMO and can't help us, as expected of Vert, so she isn't available for today. Nevertheless, we are successful in acquiring another key person in our mission of returning to Gamindustri!"

"With that said, we have everyone but Nepgear and the Loweeian CPU and Candidates." I speak up. "I highly doubt that any of us, excluding Vert because we don't know what information she has to share with us, have any information that will lead to the findings of the CPU and Candidates of Lowee. I believe, with Vert's obsession with finding another sister, she will focus her priorities on finding Nepgear more than Blanc and the twins."

"Does anyone have any clues on finding Histoire?" Hiroshi looks around the room as he speaks, waiting for any responses before continuing. "I'm pretty sure that someone earlier mentioned that Nepgear has some sort of connection with Histoire, and if the device that she uses is able to contact her, then we will have that problem in the bag. Now, if my hypothesis is correct, that means that the Loweeians will be the hardest to find, depending on how reliable Vert will be upon tomorrow's meeting."

"So basically what you're saying is that Vert is pretty much the only resource that we have in order for us to go back to Gamindustri?" Uni looks at Hiroshi, trying to see if he has an answer to her question.

"Pretty much, yes. If she has information on both Nepgear and at least Blanc, then Blanc will know where her younger sisters, the twins, will be, and Nepgear will know where Histoire will be." He responds to her question, receiving a nod from her. "The only thing left is to help Histoire gain the necessities in order to return you guys to Gamindustri."

"And what about you?" I speak up, looking at Hiroshi.

"I'll try and come with you guys, it just depends on whether my body can handle the shift, or if I, someone who isn't a Gamindustrian, is even _allowed_ to pass into that dimension. If all goes well then of course I will go with you guys." I didn't care for how noticeably my eyes brightened; if I could be with Hiroshi, then it would make me undeniably happy.

"Well all we can do is hope and wish that you'll be able to travel through dimensions with us. Actually, let's all hope that _we_ can return back to Gamindustri ourselves."

* * *

 **•[•]•[•] Hiroshi [•]•[•]•**

Watching the rest of the club members exit the room, I see Noire staring at me, her bright red eyes piercing into mine.

"Wh-what's up, Noire? Do I have something on my face?" I look back at the tsundere, who just lets out a sigh.

"Nothing's wrong." She then gets up from her chair and sits herself on my lap, making my face burn a deep red.

"What are you doing now?" I did my best to speak calmly, but I could hear a slight stutter in my voice. Although the two of us had already kissed, being in a position where Noire was sitting _on_ me was a different experience. "Perhaps, would you like to kiss me?" The only thing that I could do to avert my hormones was through my verbal teasing.

"Sh-sh-shut up! Why would I kiss an idiot like you!?" She stammers, crossing her arms over her chest with a huff.

"The why would you sit on my lap facing towards me?" I pester her, making her burrow deeper and deeper into her Tsundere self.

"B-because the breeze was in my face! I-I mean, I wasn't staring at your lips or anything, b-but that's besides the point!"

Letting out a sigh, I gently wrap my arms around her waist, pulling her closer to me. "You know, you should really try and refrain from being such a tsundere. It's so much cuter when you're more direct with what you have to say to me." I then press my lips against hers, silencing her from making a remark towards my comment. _I swear, even though this is the second time that I've done such a thing with Noire, I feel as if it'll never grow old. In fact, I hope it doesn't._ I think to myself as the two of us enjoy each other's flavors. Even though I was the one who initiated the kiss, I was the first one to pull back, leaving the noirette to pout.

"Why'd you end it so quick?" She huffs, her face flushed a bright red as she touches a finger to her lips. "It was better yesterday."

"Whatever. Nothing can compare with a first kiss." I shrug, adjusting my position beneath her. Noire quickly gets up and moves to the side, allowing me to have some space to my own. Standing up as well, I hand Noire her bag, grabbing mine in the process, before heading out of the room.

"Are you nervous for tomorrow, Hiroshi?" Noire speaks up as the two of us make our way out of the school building.

"No, why?" I blatantly state, glancing at Noire from the side, who shrugs.

"Dunno, so many possibilities could come out of this one meeting, some of the outcomes being good, some being not so good."

"Then all we've gotta do is trust in Vert's goodwill to help us with her best efforts."

"Geez, at least be a little more tense, will you?" I receive a smack in the arm, making me rub it with a groan.

"That hurt, you know."

"I can hit you harder if you'd like."

"No thanks."

 **…**

"Everyone, I would like your attention please!" Neptune speaks up, abolishing any sort of side conversation between the members of the Extradimensional Dispersion Club. "I would like to introduce you to a guest in the clubroom! Would you like to introduce yourself?"

"Of course I would, Neptune! After all, it's wonderful to be reunited with my fellow allies once again." The woman had a mature timbre to her voice, her physical appearance adding to her demeanor. All of the Extradimensional Dispersion club members' eyes lit up at her appearance, leaving me to await her introduction. "I'm Vert, for those of you who _don't_ know me, but who could possibly not know who I am?"

"Well Hiroshi doesn't personally know who you are. He's heard things about you, but merely subjective things that support our reason as to why you're a necessity for being able to return to Gamindustri." Noire speaks up, answering Vert's rhetorical question. "But now that we're on the topic of returning to Gamindustri, do you mind telling us what you know about Nepgear, Histoire, Blanc and the twins?" As Noire speaks, Vert makes her way over to an empty chair which Neptune had set out for her to sit on.

"Of course I don't mind telling you all that I know! I would do absolutely _anything_ to be able to return to my ultimate gaming system back in Leanbox!" She lets out a small, frustrated huff before proceeding to answer Noire. "Well I had come in contact with Nepgear, my precious little sweetheart, and the two of us have been conversing through email ever since we were able to get a hold of each other. As far as I know, Nepgear knows where Blanc is, but not the twins. What I'm eluding from that information is that Blanc is separated from the twins, ultimately leading to more work for us in order to get back to Gamindustri. Now that I think about it, why _isn't_ Nepgear in this club? In fact, I'm not even sure how she could've possibly ignored this club, even more so that didn't even _know_ about this club, whilst enrolling into Ksugakari High along with you guys. Unfortunately it seems as though she is separated from the rest of you, for if she were to be in any other your classes, she would almost immediately join upon invitation. I can text her really quick to see if she's available." Whipping out her phone, Vert proceeds to send a message to the recipient, who seems to be Nepgear, in breakneck speed. Hearing a small "ding!" peep out of Vert's phone, she looks up at us with a grin. "Looks like she'll be here any moment."

"I-I'm so sorry!" A loud, yet innocent voice bursts through the door, revealing a girl. She had dressed in a sailor's outfit, colored multifariously with different purples, her hair matching the color scheme with long, neatly combed, lilac locks. Whilst being able to maintain an almost perfect hairstyle, the only messiness applicable being a bang that would refuse to cooperate with her. "This club was never in the samples a while back, so I had no idea!" I then shoot a glare at Vii, who just lets out a chuckle and whistles whilst avoiding eye contact with me. _I knew someone would be looking for our club right after she shut it down!_

"I-I guess that was partially my fault." She lets out a shaky laugh, scratching her head. "I may or may not've closed down the club station since I had already found promising club members, Uni, Noire and Hiroshi."

"Y-you're good! Forgive me for not being here from the start!" She then bows, Nep letting out a sigh.

"What am I going to do with you, you silly goose!" Nep gets up, walks over to Nepgear, and pulls on her cheeks, making Nepgear let out a slurred line of apology. Seeming to finish with their quarrel after a few moments, Nep sits down, an eyebrow twitching as Nepgear proceeded to bow once again.

"B-before we get off task again," Uni speaks up. "Can we hear all of the info relevant to our current situation? If at all possible, please focus on the information about Histy, Blanc or the twins."

"Of course!" Nepgear then clears her throat before continuing." So I've done a lot of research into our current situation, and with my handy-dandy device, the N-Gear, I was able to successfully track one of the CPUs. Although I hoped it was Nep, I couldn't control as to which CPU it would track, leading me to track Blanc. As far as I know, she lives in a nearby complex that's within walking distance of Ksugakari High. Although she should be attending a highschool, just as we are, the twins had no place to turn to as far as becoming educated about this world, forcing her to stay home and help educate them. I'd say that she'd be pretty happy if I stepped in and helped babysit the twins, but it'd also give me the excuse to help her transfer into Ksugakari High and even possibly join the club. As far as finding Histy, she's currently back in Gamindustri, controlled by the new ruler of Gamindustri. We're anonymous as to who actually _is_ ruling Gamindustri, but I'm almost 100% confident that she's being controlled by that being. Without a doubt, since in previous games, Histy's been able to converse and help us through different dimensions, she can communicate to us here on Earth. I believe that the letters that we have been receiving from this 'Unknown' person is telling me that they're somehow using something, or someone, in this case Histy, to communicate with us. If my hypothesis is correct, then I can simply hack into Histy's core and rewrite her code so that she will help us return to Gamindustri. Of course I'm going to have to return her to her normal state, being the loveable, emojicon-loving fairy we all know after we're done with this monkey business, don't you worry! Other than that, I believe that that is all of the information that I have about the others."

"That's quite the handful of exponentially useful information." I praise Nepgear, receiving a blush in return. "It almost seems _too_ convenient to gain that information so easily and without any interruptions." I mumble the last part to myself, glancing at Noire who had seemed to listen into my suspicions.

"I don't necessarily disagree with you, Hiroshi." She speaks in a low enough voice so that only I could hear. "Let's keep our guards up just in case something funky happens in the midst of us wrapping up this hairy mess of a problem." Giving her a small nod, we hear Neptune begin to wrap up the meeting, giving us a spiel of what would occur within the next few days.

"So what I'm planning on doing is to let Nepgear take care of most of the dirty work like hacking into Histy and babysitting the twins while one of you guys take care of transferring Blanc into Ksugakari High." She speaks up, taking over the conversation.

"I believe that Noire is the one who is able to fulfill that job, transferring Blanc into Ksugakari High." I almost immediately nominate Noire, making her flinch a little bit.

"Wh-why me?" She points to herself in confusion.

"Well you're clearly the smartest one out of the group, plus you know how to do _everything_ , don't you? Taking care of a simplistic transfer shouldn't be _too_ hard for you, right?" Grinning as I see Noire's eyebrow twitch with annoyance, signaling that I had won the fight, she gives in.

"F-fine! I'll do it! I-It's not because I'm doing this because you're my boyfriend or anything, idiot!" She huffs and crosses her arms over her chest.

"Whatever you say, you tsundere." I laugh and lightly peck her on the cheek, making her face burn a bright red.

"D-don't do that in front of them..!" She mumbles with embarrassment, fidgeting with her fingers underneath the table.

"So I believe that we've got the jobs covered that we need finished." Neptune stacks her papers into a neat pile, returning the attention to her. "You all are dismissed! Have a great day, and keep your schoolwork your main priority! Things'll only get more tedious as we continue to progress through the days!"

* * *

 **~Author's Note!~**

 **Hey, everyone! The Extradimensional Dispersion Club is going pretty well, and the two protagonists have finally gotten together! I wonder who could possibly be in leadership of Gamindustri at the moment... B-but! You all will find that out later, so stay tuned for the next chapter!**

 **I hope you enjoyed the chapter and have an _amazing_ day! :)**


	21. Chapter 21

**•[•]•[•] Hiroshi [•]•[•]•**

A few days had passed since our plan for transferring Blanc, who I still have yet to meet, into Ksugakari High. Whilst all that time had passed, we unfortunately hadn't made any progress as far as getting closer to the CPUs' return to Gamindustri. Another meeting was being held in the Extradimensional Dispersion Clubroom, all of the current members being present and active in the conversation.

"So has anyone made any progress with finding clues about Histy or the twins?" Neptune takes a glance around the room, a slight hint of desperation in her voice as she speaks. Receiving nothing more than averted gazes, the purplette lets out a defeated sigh.

"Actually, I have a question." I speak up, relieving myself from my chair and placing my hands on the table before us. "Didn't Nepgear say that she knew where Blanc was? If that's the case, why didn't we just go to where Blanc is?"

"I suppose you're right, Hiroshi." Noire speaks up, crossing her arms over her chest. "But how should we approach Blanc? We can't just send everyone to barge into her house like that without letting her know in advance. Nepgear, can you contact Blanc and plan a meeting with her?"

"Yes I can, though, I wouldn't expect an immediate response. I can contact her right now if you would like me to." She immediately pulls out her phone and opens up an app, texting a message to Blanc.

"Once you've established a meeting time with Blanc, I suggest we have two people who will meet up with her to talk things out." Vert stands up, placing her hands on her table. "I believe that this will diffuse the concern of bringing everyone over to her residence, for it will allow for a lesser amount of stress to be put onto the Loweean CPU. Do we have any suggestions for who should be the ones to go?" There was a pause. I glance around the room to find everyone pondering on their thoughts, their attention directed towards an unfocused source.

"I believe that we should have Hiroshi and Nepgear go." Noire crosses her arms over her chest and takes a look around the room.

"Wh-why me?" Nepgear and I stammer in unison.

"I agree with Noire." Neptune nods in approval. "Hiroshi should go so that he will be able to get to know Blanc, and Nepgear is the closest out of all of us to the Loweeans, so they should be the perfect pair to go. Anyone else, I'm afraid, would only cause distress to the Loweeans."

"So it has been decided," Vert says, ignoring a ringtone that sounded from a phone. "When we receive confirmation from Blanc, we will send you two as soon as possible to head over to Blanc's household."

"A-actually," Nepgear speaks up, "I just received a text message from Blanc saying that she'd much appreciate it if the two of us had come as soon as possible. She had sent her address as well."

"W-well," Noire says with a small twitch in her eyebrow. "That was a bit convenient. Maybe a bit _too_ convenient."

"I guess that just means that the audience just can't _wait_ to see Blanc in this story any longer!" Nep exclaims, receiving a numerous amount of glares from around the room.

"I… I suppose that just means that we'll get more clues more quickly." Nepgear quickly changes the subject with a small cough.

"Speaking of clues," I speak up, the attention of the club members directed towards me. "What are we trying to get out of Blanc?"

"Well, if we are trying to get back into Gamindustri, the only one allowing for us to travel back being Histy, I believe that we should at least try and ask her about Histy." Neptune says, putting a hand on her chin.

"Also," Noire stands up, pulling out her Share Crystal. "While you're there, ask if she has access to her Share Crystal. It's necessary for at least us, CPUs, to have the Crystals in hand. And if I remember correctly, that 'Unknown' person had said something along the lines of 'Successfully collected 1/4 Share Crystals'. If he knows about the Share Crystals, then he must be related to Gamindustri. So I believe that if the four of us have our Share Crystals, it'll bring us one step closer to our return to Gamindustri."

"Noire _does_ have a point." Nep furrows a brow.

"So we should ask her about her Share Crystal and Histy, correct?" I reiterate the information that I had just received, looking at rest of the club members.

"Actually," Vert speaks up. "A-although it would be out of place for me to ask this, make sure that you ask her if she'd be okay transferring into this school, as well as joining this club." _What does she mean by, "it would be out of place for me to ask"?_ I think to myself, nodding at her in confirmation.

"With that said," Neptune stands up with a smile. "I guess this means that this meeting should be adjourned. We've gathered enough information for today, and we'll hopefully be receiving more today once Nepgear and Hiroshi get back from their little meet-n-greet with Blanc and the twins. Have a good day, everyone, and the two of you, make sure you get some good info for our next meeting, okay?"

"Of course," I say, stealing a glance from Nepgear, who gives me a small nod.

Watching as the other club members leave, I find that Vert, Neptune, Nepgear and Noire had remained in their seats.

"Hey," I turn to see Noire looking at me with a hint of worry. "Make sure you stay safe." I nod, smiling in response.

"I'll make sure that Nepgear and I return safely, so don't worry about us, okay?" Turning to Nepgear, she looks up at me with a smile.

"Would you like to head out now?" The purplette stands up, her phone in hand. "It wouldn't hurt to head over there earlier, especially if she had requested for us to come as soon as we're available."

"Sure." I stand up with a nod.

"When will you two be getting back?" Noire speaks up, the two of us looking at her.

"I would guess maybe around a few hours. We have a lot of things that we need to confirm with Blanc, as well as a lot of catching up with her. I believe that while it would be best for us to gather as much information as we can, it wouldn't be wise for us to stay out until dark." Nepgear explains, putting her hand on her chin, calculating the logistics.

"Well, do your best to gather the most while you can; the rest we can learn from Blanc when she transfers here." We look at the front of the room to find Neptune looking at us, one leg on top of the other. "Truth be told, there isn't much that we can do without Histy. On the contrary, anything that we _can_ do without her will hopefully lead to us being able to gain access to Histy, and then hopefully to Gamindustri."

* * *

 **•[•]•[•] Noire [•]•[•]•**

Watching Nepgear and Hiroshi exit the room, I turn to look at Neptune, who has her eyes closed.

"Is everything alright?" I speak up, Neptune opening her eyes and focusing her gaze at me.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just contemplating." She gives me a distracted response, making me sigh.

"Can I do something to help?" Again, another half-hearted stare.

"I'm just confused about the fact that Nep and I were split, but not the rest of you CPUs." She puts a hand on her chin.

"Now that you point that out, you're right. Why _were_ you split?" I let out a sigh, staring out of the window, watching a pair of birds flutter off towards the depths of the city.

"Yes, that _does_ bring up a concern," Vert says, looking between the two of us. "Let us put that problem aside for now, though."

"What is it, Vert?" Neptune looks at Vert with a raised eyebrow.

"Although I have yet to mention this to the rest of the group, I've got full access to my HDD and Share Crystal, just like you, Noire." As she finishes speaking, she stands up and holds a closed fist to her chest. Watching as a verdant, green glow engulf her, she reappears as Green Heart, her olive-painted ponytail replacing her golden-blonde hair.

"Why didn't you tell this to the others yet?" I say, placing my hands onto the table, staring up at Green Heart.

"I simply forgot to, no hidden schemes or any of that sort." She shrugs, turning back into her human form. "I'll be sure to mention it next meeting, so remind me to do so, will you?"

"Of course." I nod, turning my gaze to Neptune. "Neptune, do you have any idea if you can access your Share Crystal?"

"Truth be told," She looks at me, a hint of worry in her eyes. "I haven't got a single drop of Share Energy within me."

"What!?" Vert and I exclaim in unison, disbelief washing over us as we stare dumbfoundedly at Planeptune's CPU.

"H-how is that possible?" I clear my throat, calming myself from my previous outburst.

"I'm not entirely sure myself, but all I know is that the fact that Nep and I have been split is most likely related to the reason why I don't have a Share Crystal, or rather, why _we_ don't have access to a Share Crystal."

"I-I see…" Vert puts a hand on her chin, furrowing her brow in distraught. "So how did this even _happen_ in the first place?"

I suddenly find myself thinking about the time in Imayoshi, where I was nearly kidnapped. _Something about that time back in Imayoshi seemed pretty suspicious. Out of all of the people that they had to target, it had to be me. What's even worse is that I didn't even get a chance to see who it was that attempted to abduct me because I was too flustered and in-the-moment to think clearly. What if…?_ My thoughts are interrupted by the sound of the intercom spewing out some call for a student's presence in the headmistress' office.

"I'm not sure," I say. "I guess we'll have to let Nepgear and Hiroshi do their thing before we'll be able to make any progress."

* * *

 **•[•]•[•] Hiroshi [•]•[•]•**

"This should be it." Nepgear stops in front of what is your average home, one amongst many others that look just like it. "At least, that's what the address says."

"Well," I say, putting a hand on my hip, observing the house that Blanc is supposedly living in. "let's check it out, shall we?" With a small nod, Nepgear begins to make her way to the porch, leaving me to follow behind her.

Ringing the electric doorbell that had been posted to the side of the door, we listen to the small chime sound, waiting for someone to answer. Nepgear looks back at me, a smile plastered on her face. _Seems like Nepgear's excited to see someone._ I think to myself, smiling back at her. It wasn't long before we heard small footsteps scamper down the hallway, a pair of voices sound, muffled behind the door.

"W-wait! R-Ram, Blanc hasn't given us the 'Okay' for us to open the door for strangers!" A small, unsteady voice makes its appearance.

"But I saw Nepgear in the camera! There's _no_ way that's _not_ her! M-more importantly, _why_ is she here?!" A more boisterous voice shouts back at the other one as the two of them make their way to the door. We suddenly hear an aggressive click, the door flying open before us, revealing two, small girls.

The brunettes appeared to be at least siblings, for they shared nearly symmetrical appearances. One of the brunettes had shoulder-length hair while the other had longer hair, and the one with shorter hair was clutching onto the other's arm. The other brunette, however, looked at Nepgear with wide eyes, frozen in place. Both were dressed in white blouses, a blue bow accompanying the girl with the longer hair, a pink bow accompanying the other.

"Uh, Nepgear? Who are these two?" I look over at Nepgear, whose eyes are practically shining now, her smile growing even bigger.

The girl who had been frozen in place had managed to regain possession of her body, for she had lifted up a finger, pointed towards Nepgear, and exclaimed, "N-Nepgear!?"

"That's my name!" Nepgear then steps inside and hugs the two girls, leaving me in bewilderment as to what was going on. "It's been _so_ long since I've seen the two of you!"

"Y-yeah, it's been too long!"

"I miss you, Nepgear! It's been _super_ boring living in this house! Especially because Blanc is here dictating us!" The two brunettes then burst into tears, wailing into Nepgear's arms. _These three must've been really good friends back in Gamindustri._ I think to myself. _It's been what, nearly four months since these girls had left their dimension and ended up here._

"B-by the way," The brunette with longer hair manages to wipe the tears from her eyes and steps away from Nepgear's embrace, staring at me with suspicion. "Who's that guy? He's not some creep, is he?"

" _Creep."_ The words pierced through me like an arrow. To think that the first impression of these girls would be ruined in an instant. _That hurt, you know._ I let out a sigh and rub the back of my head.

"W-well," Nepgear stands up and steps back so that she's aligned with me. "This is Hiroshi, one of my fellow classmates…" She begins to give a brief explanation as to why I was here, but then elaborated on the reason why the two of us were here in the first place. Just as Nepgear had finished with her explanation, an older girl, one that looked of our age, appeared at the end of the hallway. She appeared to be wearing an oversized, light-brown sweater, and a pair of white shorts. Her hair was shoulder length, and was of similar shade to the two girls before me.

"Who's visiti-" She begins to speak up, cutting herself off once her eyes find Nepgear. I could've sworn that I had seen a flash of joy in her eyes momentarily before her eyes flicked to mine, returning to a dull stare. "I see you've received my text, Nepgear."

"Yes, I got your text and came here right away!" Nepgear explains. "And besides, I wanted to see you guys so badly, so it's all the more reasoning as to why I came here."

"If I may ask," The mature brunette then clears her throat and directs a cold stare at me. "Who is this man? I don't recall inviting him over."

"This is Hiroshi Fujita, a friend and classmate of mine." She introduces me to the brunette. "He's Noire's boyfriend and, upon Neptune's request, was forced to come over here to get to know you, as well as to be able to get to know more about the situation in Gamindustri."

"Well, if he has no ill intentions then I suppose it would be rude of me to refuse his presence here. It would be better for us to hold a proper conversation in a more comfortable place, rather than standing around here. Come on inside."

The two of us exchanged glances before stepping inside of the Loweean household, watching as the two girls dash down the hallway, disappearing around the corner as they chase each other down to the next hallway. Letting my eyes roam the house, the two of us make our way through the hallway that the two brunettes had gone.

Their house was well maintained, almost as clean as mine. There were pots and vases, filled with flowers of all kinds, sitting on top of various pedestals with embroideries and decorations. There were the occasional, sporadic picture frames, filled with paintings and portraits. It looked as though the Loweeans had just cleaned, for I could see the faint, but present strokes of a mop that lined the wooden floor. Turning the corner, Nepgear and I find ourselves in the entrance of some sort of living room. To the right were a set of sliding glass doors, which opened to the backyard of the property. In between the doors and the two of us were a set of couches, and a coffee table that was in the middle that separated them. Sitting on the couch facing towards us was the three brunettes who we had seen at the entrance of the house, the two adolescents sitting on either side of who seemed to be the oldest of the three.

"Have a seat." The brunette in the middle offered the couch on the opposing side of her. Gratefully accepting her offer, the two of us take a seat. "I believe I have yet to introduce myself to you, Hiroshi. I'm Blanc, the Loweean CPU, and these are my younger, twin sisters, Rom and Ram."

"I'm Ram!" The brunette with the longer hair raised a hand, grinning. "Sorry for calling you a creep, Hiroshi!"

"I-I'm Rom!" The other twin, with shorter, brown hair spoke softly, with a lack of confidence in her voice.

"It's a pleasure to meet you three." I introduce myself once again to the three, watching as the twins exchange glances between one another. "If you don't mind us, we'd like to get right to business."

"Of course." Blanc nods, clasping her hands together on her lap.

"If you're okay with this, we'd like to get right to the point." Nepgear's jovial smile turned to a serious stare. "Do you know anything about the situation in Gamindustri?" She then proceeds to explain the situation back in Ksugakari High, the CPUs writing and receiving letters from the other CPUs, our Extradimensional Dispersion Club, gathering every CPU and CPU Candidate except for Blanc, Rom, and Ram, and lastly, the Share Crystals.

"That about sums up the stuff that we'd like to know about. Specifically if you know anything about any of this." I conclude relay the motives of our conversation. We watch as Blanc furrows her brow, her hands pressed into her thighs, taking in all of the information we had given.

"Well, I do know this." She finally looks up at Nepgear and I, the two of us bracing for her response. "I, in fact, _do_ know where Histy is."

* * *

 **~Author's Note!~**

 **...hello? I-I'm back!? This is madness! I know, I know, I've been gone for literally _7 frickin' months,_ lazing about, putting this story aside. Thankfully, and unfortunately, I managed to boost my motivation to write again by playing for nearly 100 hours, over the course of two weeks, on a JRPG (I have no life). **

**A-anyway! It's about time I introduced Blanc and the twins into this story! And what's up with Blanc knowing where Histy was?**

 **I hope I haven't made you guys wait _too_ long (stay optimistic, HDNftw ;w;!), so I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and have an _amazing_ day!**


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